Deception at Intermission
by Sheamaru
Summary: Neither of them were really built for relationships, so maybe it'll take a production of lies to make them realize not being built for relationships may not mean they aren't built for each other. [Kankuro x Kiba]
1. Stage 1

Kiba slouched in one of the chairs at the small table of the Inuzuka household's kitchen; usually the chair was dubbed his anyway. Mostly because it was the only one that had the ability to rock back and forth due to a make-shift replacement of a leg for it. The original leg was one that Kiba himself had broken off a decade ago and thus he was given the faulty chair. However, something about this particular chair never seemed 'faulty' to Kiba – the busted leg gave it character. His mother and sister's chairs always stayed four on the floor, at all times, and there wasn't any fun in that. He could entertain himself while eating dinner by rocking back and forth, could they do that? No.

The Inuzuka child was shifting his bare feet on the floor at the moment to do just such a thing as the chair gave a '_clack_' when the back leg hit and a '_tap_' when the front hit. He listened for the rhythm as though it helped him to focus his thoughts while his mother was lecturing him. He found the floor tile more interesting than looking up at her while she paced, back and forth, across the room. Her gestures were wild and she occasionally slammed her hands down on the table, sticking him with some comment that he mustered a snide remark for but didn't say. Her ferocious look was very different from his sister, Hana, who was looking at him with a soft understanding. Her hands were neatly folded on the table and she sat straight watching her brother.

He scratched his nails across his naked side and bit on the inside of his lip with a particularly sharp canine tooth. Normally his nails were too short to do much damage to his skin but he knew he could change that with the manipulation of charka if he wanted. Though he also knew that if Kuromaru, his mother's dog companion, picked up the scent of charka on him then he would jump into the fray. Not to hurt Kiba of course, more just a 'back off' kind of movement. Akamaru would have done the same thing for him.

"We make this trip every year and suddenly, two years ago, you decide you don't want to go. I humored you for a while Kiba but you are _going _this year. Do you understand me? They're our oldest family friends! What would your father think of this behavior? They were his friends too," she shouted at him across the table. Things in his house were usually more intense then a simple 'lets talk it out' meeting of the family. Sure, if she had her way, Hana would be all for that sort of thing – but his mother ran the house, not Hana.

He blinked as he clipped his lip and tasted blood in his mouth, running his tongue along the wound made it sting a little but he did it anyway. It was just another thing to avert his focus from his screaming mother. The trip in question was an annual trek to visit family friends in the Village Hidden in Mist; how exactly they knew these people was beyond Kiba but he figured out a few years ago that he didn't like the trip. For whatever reason, the kids around there didn't like him very much. Now, normally this wouldn't have bugged him at all – lord knew there were people around Konoha that thought he was a bit much to handle. What with living with dogs and having a loud and brash personally, there was a lot that he could understand people not liking. However those kids were just plain out to _get _him and it took Kiba nearly twelve years to realize that.

They talked about his father and how he was a bastard mutt for not having one, how he was raised to be like a girl because he only lived with girls. These comments had stung before but two years ago they'd just found other things to pick at. He had taken his team with him the year after that and rather than assuming Hinata may have been his girlfriend they turned on him that Shino _must _have been his boyfriend. Not only that but they remarked how he needed back up just to handle a bunch of talk from kids. Words like 'fag' and 'faggot' had been tossed around consistently and no matter who or what story he told – no one listened. It wasn't until his last visit, two years ago, that he lost it – they had the gall to insult not only Shino and Hinata but Akamaru as well.

Well, needless to say, Kiba was a certified and well trained genin by then and he had _no _problems showing that. He beat one of the kids into unconsciousness and several others got away with only a bloody nose or busted lip. He'd taken it for too long and if getting banned from ever coming again was the punishment he was more than happy to deal with that. He found, unfortunately, that he hadn't been banned the following year but he refused to go anyway. After the stunt his mother allowed him to stay home but apparently two years of missing the stupid gathering was pushing it.

"And after the way you lost it last visit and didn't even bother to go the next year to apologize! I know you didn't send those apology scrolls I told you to write. Kuromaru found them in the back yard not two months from when I told you to send them, dammit! What's gotten into you, Kiba?" she growled at him. Maybe earlier she would have tried to understand and sympathize with her son but by this point she was willing to twist his arm, quite literally, to get him to listen.

The legs of the chair scraped against the floor as he stood up and kept his eyes away from his mother's face. He wasn't entirely sure what he was hiding, but he knew it must have been something because Inuzuka Kiba never avoided a gaze without reason. He turned to head for the door without a word to his mother or sister. Instead he pushed aside the cloth they used to cover the door frame and stepped into the living room, "C'mon Akamaru, lets go for a walk, boy!"

The now waist high puppy came bounding through the hallway and jumped up to balance on his two front legs on Kiba's thighs. The ninja smiled and cuffed at the fur behind the big dog's ears, Akamaru licked his cheek affectionately and jumped down so Kiba could get his shoes. As he was sitting on the couch pulling them on, his mother came out if the kitchen with Hana and Kuromaru at her heels, "You're not leaving this house until you tell me what's going on."

Kiba pulled on his sandals and took his black leather jacket from Akamaru's mouth (he had gone off to grab it) to slip it on over his bare upper torso. As he turned he felt his mother's hand grab at the back of his neck and yank him back making his shoulders instinctively tense in an attempt to get her to let go. He managed to after shaking a little and his hand instantly flew to the back of the neck where a few stinging nail marks had started in his skin. He snarled slightly now, Akamaru waiting at his side, "You've got a shitty taste in friends, okay? They're jerks, Ma, those kids talk about Dad and they keep calling me gay! Not even that, they're calling me a _fag_! They have been for years and I'm sick of it, okay? I'm not going back there just to hear it all over again for another week."

With that he turned on his heel and moved to head out the door; the front door was one of the solid doors they had in the household so Kiba took some comfort in slamming it behind him and Akamaru. He jammed his hands deeply into his pockets and kicked at the rocks dug into the brown dirt at his feet. Akamaru trotted along at his side and once they got out of sight of the house, behind some trees, he bumped his head against the back of Kiba's thigh. The Inuzuka stopped and turned to look at his companion with a face lined in anger not directed at the dog. When Akamaru yipped up at him, his once high puppy voice becoming deeper and more grown up, he sighed and dropped to one knee.

"You know I'm not lying, right? I'd never just attack someone for no reason," he asked softly as he scratched at the other's fur. Akamaru flipped to lie on his back and wiggled a little as Kiba scratched his stomach and his leg thumped against the ground. When a partially cheerful smile opened on the red decorated cheeks, Akamaru lifted up his head to lick a moist trail on Kiba's cheek. He barked back in agreement of the Inuzuka's statement and flipped up again as Kiba stood. They started walking again and Kiba kept one hand down to rest on Akamaru's head, "Well, phase one of storm out of the house worked. Haven't thought up to phase two yet…"

Akamaru barked again and Kiba seemed to nod in agreement as the dirt and grass under their feet became the worn path of the main street leading through Konoha. Food sounded like a good plan considering his breakfast hour had been passed up for being snapped at. The two made their way in the direction of the strong scent of steak being cooked up ahead.

------------------

Kiba sat with his back perched against a tree in the clove of trees that parted way amidst a forest he knew well from his training with the rest of his team. A toothpick was expertly manipulated between his teeth by his lips as his folded arms stayed up behind his head with little effort. Akamaru was curled up contently at his side after a good meal with his master and resting his head in Kiba's lap. The two had enjoyed a good meal about an hour ago now and Kiba was timing the wait until they could get up and work it off. White clouds passed overhead frequently enough to eclipse the sun at random intervals and allow him to open his eyes without worry about the blinding brightness.

His face was frowning across the clearing towards the tree that happened to be in the way of his glare. However much he attempted to avoid it, his thoughts continued to drift back towards what happened with his mother, "Why can't she just get it? Even Hana seems to get what I'm talking about and she's with the adults as much as Ma." Kiba always preferred to talk aloud when he really expected answers; he was never talking to himself because Akamaru was always at his side. The dog didn't respond to the question immediately and didn't even seem interested in moving. After a moment he sneezed and Kiba sank a bit more against the tree.

"I'd stay with them if they weren't so damn boring, going off on my own didn't work the last few times but I'm older now so maybe Ma can convince Auntie to let me go and come back when they need me. What do you think, Akamaru?" The dog gave a low snuff that sounded like a cross between a bark and a sneeze. Kiba sighed and lowered his arms, letting one hand rest in the grass while the other ran over the creamy fur along Akamaru's back. The large dog gave something of a shudder before lifting his head enough to look up at Kiba and give him another moist lick across the cheek. This seemed to make the boy feel better as he laughed a little, "Maybe you're right. She'll just keep arguing with me if I stay home…I could always sneak off to Shino's but those Aburame don't like having you in their house, do they boy? Naw, big dogs like you are too much for their clean floors."

Akamaru gave a snort of disapproval and shook his head like something had flown up his nose and he was trying to get it out. Kiba sniggered slightly to himself and scratched the over grown puppy behind his floppy ears which earned him a cold nose against his own. Akamaru knew that none of the Aburame meant any harm, they were just a really neat family and didn't like having the big dog in their house no matter how well trained he was. So Akamaru would routinely sit outside and wait quietly while Kiba got Shino, and if Kiba planned to hang around for a while he would leave Akamaru at home. Sometimes Akamaru even curled up outside Shino's window and stayed close in case Kiba needed him.

"Just wish I had _someone _to tag along with me. Not Shino though, I don't think I could tolerate another hit on him, not while he's around at least," he mused quietly. Akamaru lowered his head back to Kiba's warm lap and closed his eyes but listened as he continued to receive the loving scratches behind his ear. Occasionally his foot twitched in an eager show of enjoyment but other than that his only movement was his breathing. He laughed slightly, "Maybe I really _should _act gay…just to throw 'em off."

As the sun started to remain visible longer and the clouds disappeared, Kiba shed his jacket and tossed it in a heap of black leather off to the side of him. His bare upper frame, courtesy of storming out before grabbing a decent shirt, was nicely tanned from frequently working outside without his shirt on. The summer heat had brought about a usual lack of modesty in the wild child and he began to wear less and less when he wasn't out on a mission or walking through the village. With his home located in the forests and beyond sight of anyone except those who were looking for it, he would run around his own home doing chores or playing with Akamaru and the need for a shirt was little.

It had caught Hinata off guard when she first saw him chasing after a hyper Akamaru around the house. She had blushed and found the dirt on the ground the most intent thing to focus on. Shino had taken it a little better but Kiba would have sworn the guy had never seen someone without a shirt on before. Sure, they were only thirteen, but didn't he ever run around without a shirt on or anything? It wasn't until later that he began to really notice a pattern in the way Aburame dressed and acted; mysterious and fully clothed. While that seemed strange to him he didn't make it a point to prod Shino about taking off his clothes as long as Shino didn't prod him about keeping his on.

Years of hard work and missions had toned his muscles but he was far from bulky, he had a firm form for his age. The tanned flesh was far from flawless, however, as it was littered scars from missions and damage showing his dangerous line of work. But anyone who knew Kiba knew that he would never have given up that life; not for anything. The only contrast to the pattern of the scars was the ones that raked across his side from back to front. Ones of the same sort, or appeared to come from the same place, crossed over his shoulders and down along his chest. They scratched over his collarbone where they appeared to thin out slightly before digging in just as harshly as they had towards the top. There was no mistaking the marks for anything other than what they were; claw marks.

He ran his fingers over his shoulder, over the scars that stood out slightly against his sun-soaked skin, the paler color of the scar tissue never tanned like the rest of his skin did. He spaced his fingers out to run them down the four thick lines that were the perfect width apart to fit his fingers. With the other marks from kunai, shuriken, short swords, and an assortment of other weapons – the claw scars didn't appear to stand out too much. He rubbed and massaged at the skin under his fingers with all of his hand and pulled on the skin as he moved his hand down the rest of his chest.

They were old; he wouldn't have been able to open them simply by pulling on his skin like that, almost a year and a half old. Akamaru lifted up his head to look over at Kiba and blink slowly at his master's zoned out eyes. Kiba noticed the movement from his lap and looked back over to his dog that had now sat up and licked at his shoulder affectionately. He smiled and shook his head, raising his hand back up to run it down his companion's back, "No big deal, I'm alright. Happened a long time ago, right boy? I'm fine now, no more of that stuff."

Akamaru looked at him with eyes that seemed partially unconvinced and partially worried, eyes that made Kiba sigh and move both hands up to cuff at the back of Akamaru's ears. The large dog seemed slightly more comforted by this but he licked at Kiba's arm again and gave a large yawn. Kiba laughed and moved to stand up, "Tired huh? You're getting old, aren't you Akamaru? Bet you couldn't even take old Kuromaru down by now, you're so lazy."

The dog barked his defiance and rose up with Kiba, tail wagging eagerly behind him. Kiba clapped his hands together and Akamaru lunged at him but he side stepped. He clapped and jested at the dog with playful put downs and Akamaru continued to try and tackle him to the ground. Soon they were jumping through the trees and chasing each other in an energetic game of tag. Kiba touched dirt and bolted, leaving Akamaru to run after him. Since Akamaru had gotten bigger it had become harder for him to manage his weight on tree branches. He was not a fat dog, however he was definitely bigger and because of that he and Kiba frequently stayed on the ground. He had become quicker over land with his long strides and already energetic run. Kiba had to swing himself up into a tree to avoid being pounced on after only a minute of running on the ground.

The dog growled playfully up at him, lowering towards the ground and wagging his tail in the air. Holding onto a branch, Kiba leaned over to call down to him, "Slow poke! You've got no real lunge in those jumps! Are you even trying to catch me?"

Akamaru barked up at him and ran at the trunk of the tree, digging his claws in he managed to quickly and easily heave himself up the trunk and was back in the game. Kiba laughed and started the chase up again by running and hitting the ground once more, weaving and leaping between the trees. Occasionally he grabbed onto a branch to swing up and jump behind Akamaru to run in the opposite direction, Akamaru's scraping paws and sharp turn immediately behind him again. After about fifteen minutes he managed to tackle the hard-breathing boy to the ground and the two rolled for a moment before they landed with Akamaru standing on Kiba.

He growled furiously in Kiba's face with his nose merely inches from his master's, teeth barred over a very serious looking Kiba. The two glared harshly into one another's eyes for a moment before Akamaru suddenly lunged forward with an eager lick. He drenched Kiba's sweating face with doggy saliva playfully, making him laugh and attempt to fight the dog back before it got in his mouth. Akamaru jumped off and ran around one of the trees, growling playfully at Kiba from his 'hiding' place. The boy wiped his face off with the back of his bare arm and continued to laugh as he attempted to catch his breath – the task wasn't an easy one.

"Oh, so you want me to go after you now huh? Don't you think that's a little easy Akamaru? After all you're so slow," he poked in a taunting voice. The dog leapt from his hiding place and Kiba side stepped again before running back in the direction of their original clearing. He looked back behind him for the large dog and Akamaru kept up easily, even closed in. Having not caught his breath completely, Kiba didn't doubt that he wouldn't be able to outrun Akamaru for much longer. His chest heaved painfully but not sore enough to prevent him from running as he closed in on the clearing once again. The force hit him before he had time to react.

Or rather, he hit the _force _before he had time to react, his speed and lack of attention had sent him colliding into someone and tumbling over them. There was a particularly loud grunt and he was faintly aware of rolling with another body across the green grass of the clearing before they stopped. He was once again found under something but rather than Akamaru this time it was someone else. Also, instead of being pinned by easily escapable paws on his chest, he was pinned with his hands on either side of his head and weight across his abdomen – not a lot, but enough to keep him from moving.

The scent was the next thing to hit him as his charka immediately, in an attempt to see without his eyes, went to his nose. The collision of sweat, dry heat, and the chemical scent of some kind of make up hit his nose. The smells of a person always mixed to form them but he didn't know these smells and thankfully none of them were bad enough to make him cringe. He squinted open an eye in the bright sunlight and his lack of clear vision made it hard to see who exactly it was that he had run into. His first instinct was to struggle and try to attack something but for some reason he didn't move.

"Does anyone in this damn village believe in watching where the _hell _it is they're running?" A sharp voice asked from above him, sounding clearly unhappy. He recognized that voice though he wasn't really sure where from, one of his missions? A distant relative of Shino's he had met, maybe? Scratch the last one, it seemed like a completely stupid idea and the voice didn't sound quite old enough to be anyone from Shino's family. Maybe it was someone from his own? Well damn then he should have been able to recognize that.

"Would you get the hell offa me?" he snapped back himself and immediately shoved up with all his body weight. Bad idea. The form on top of his rose with the push but didn't get off and shoved back with more muscle and control than his own. The collision with his stomach made him lose air fast and he gasped slightly at the very much needed oxygen that he was being denied at the moment. After he got a little air he managed a winded, "Akamaru…"

It was enough, the large dog bounded from the side to tackle the form off of him and send it onto his side. More rolling was involved but Kiba didn't watch, instead he stood up and coughed into his hand before looking over at Akamaru. The dog had managed to get the form pinned on the ground with a paw on its throat and willing to decent. Snarling fangs were pressed into the painted face of Kankuro, which was twisted into a look of annoyance and anger. The face paint had changed from the last time Kiba had saw him, back when he had been saved from Sakon and Ukon. Now that he was able to see the person he understood the scent and knew that from that point on, he would be able to link that smell with the middle Sand Sibling.

Despite the dangerous paw at his throat, Kankuro twisted his head to fix his glare on Kiba and his green eyes glittered with anger, "Get. Him. Off."

"Tell me what you were doing back here first," Kiba replied, his own black eyes narrowing in reply. He had the strong feeling his glare lacked the intimidation of Kankuro's but that didn't mean he was going to give up without a fight. Akamaru's paw must have pressed down a little because Kankuro coughed and had to gasp slightly for the next breath of air. Kiba wouldn't be able to get any answers if Kankuro couldn't breathe, "Akamaru, get off 'im."

The dog seemed to hesitate for a moment but with another look to Kiba he obliged and bounded back over to his master. Kankuro sat up and rubbed at his neck in annoyance, cursing under his breath as he coughed again and re-learned how to breathe. Kiba turned to sit Indian style with Akamaru sitting at his side, this way Akamaru sat at his height and it made both of them seem slightly taller. After a moment however, Kankuro stood up which easily outdid them both and thus killed the intimidation factor. He seemed to brush off Kiba's question as he moved to just leave the clearing and go back to wherever he had been.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted as he stood up but didn't move after him, "You could at least tell me what you were doing back here so I know if I need to apologize or not!"

Kankuro sighed and lowered his hand from where it was massaging at his neck, turning partially to look at Kiba. The boy couldn't have been over sixteen but that still didn't change the fact he seemed to be trying to make up for that with a big mouth. Kankuro _hated _people with big mouths and big egos, call him a hypocrite but he never considered himself to have a big ego – if you always pick on people weaker than you then you really _are _better. Well, not really, but he used to think that way when he was younger, maybe this guy just had a reverse psychology. Pick on the bigger kids and you're tougher if you live? Sure, whatever.

"Walking," he said, cursing at how strained his voice sounded. He didn't doubt that he might be bruising from that stupid paw on his throat; wouldn't _that _have been fun to explain? Assuming anyone cared to ask; which they wouldn't.

Kiba's eyes stayed intently fixed on the figure in front of him and seemed to be trying to read weather or not it was a big fat lie. Well, it wasn't, he really had just been walking when he saw the jacket lying on the ground. Normally around his own village it meant bad things when a jacket was randomly found lying somewhere. Apparently Konoha was different and he would just have to be careful to never go investigate another jacket around here then.

After a minute the dog yipped and Kiba seemed to relax and gave a shrug, "Whatever." He turned to pick up his jacket, suddenly tired from the running around with Akamaru and thinking of going to get a drink. He shook out his jacket and pulled it on as he walked past Kankuro, who lashed out at the last minute to grab him by the front of it and yank him back. Kiba gave a slightly startled sound as he was yanked and suddenly lifted to his tip toes.

"I think that's apology worthy, brat," the older shinobi growled. Kankuro was at least three inches taller than Kiba and thus Kiba being pulled to his tiptoes put them at about eye level. An annoyed look over took the surprised look in his eyes and he resisted the strong urge to spit in that painted face.

"Forget it, not my fault you were standing in my way."

"You'd better be fucking kidding me because you should have been looking where the hell you were running." For most people, swearing in arguments made them sound stupid or immature; for Kankuro it really did make him sound more threatening. Like the type of person that resorted to swearing for two reasons – he was seriously turned on or seriously pissed off.

"I'm not apologizing 'cause _you _got in my way," Kiba challenged

"Excuse me?"

"You still have sand in your ears from the trip? I'm _not _apologizing."

A suddenly very angry look over took Kankuro's face and Kiba had little time to react before a fist collided with his bare stomach. Leather did very little in terms of protection from things like being punched in the gut and for the second time today, air left him in a rush. He was let go and shoved backwards, the force made him hit the ground and he rolled slightly to keep his shoulder from being landed on awkwardly. The pain ran through his body like a second adrenaline high and he dug his fingers into the ground to keep himself up on all fours. Roots tore under his grasp and he tried to regain his air as the feeling washed over his nerves. Being punched was nothing like being stabbed or burned; it was almost like being hit full force with charka except more solid. His stomach muscles ached from the tension and he closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head as though trying to clear it.

Kankuro watched as the boy tried to regain himself and when the slitted eyes finally looked up the feeling in them wasn't exactly what he was expecting. It wasn't pained or angry, it may have been surprised a few minutes ago but whatever that guy had done to recover really sent him all the way. The look in those eyes was almost urging, like he _wanted _to be punched. Did he seriously provoke him just to get _hit_? What kind of freak actually wanted to be hurt that way? Or at all for that matter? The seventeen year old thought he had read it wrong but as he kept the look for a moment he realized he hadn't been wrong. The look almost resembled lust...Lust from being hit in the gut with enough force to make someone sick.

"You like being hit?" He raised a brow at the question, almost like it was amusing. It seemed to start something behind those eyes because Kiba quickly pushed himself up and moved to storm past him. His face was aimed down and set in a firm look of annoyance and determination but it felt more like he was trying to maintain that really than feeling either of those things. The last place he wanted to be right now was here; what had Kankuro seen in those few seconds? With the look it made sense why Akamaru hadn't jumped him, he didn't sense fear or pain from his master he sensed something else. His companion had remained silent and blinking a few feet away, but as Kiba stormed past him he rose obediently to follow.

Kankuro watched the disappearing form with a bemused look; if the kid liked being hit he could only _dream_ where some of those scars came from.


	2. Stage 2

The steam from the tub still managed to fill the entire bathroom and make the air feel humid and thick enough for Kiba to roll around in. He had just spent a half hour or so soaking away his training and much of his day in the hot warm water. A show of habit allowed him to dry off his body with a gray towel carefully and make his way to the sink across the room. His soaked brunette hair dripped in his eyes so he pushed a hand back through it to slick it away from his face as his forearm wiped away the steam from the mirror over the sink. His blotted image came into view beyond the clinging droplets of moisture and he looked over the familiar slitted eyes and red fang markings on his face.

However, as he finished drying himself off and ran the towel over his wet abdomen he found himself hissing slightly in pain. Opening his eyes from a grimace showed a decent circle of purple and blue forming over his stomach where Kankuro's fist had connected. He secured the towel around his waist to preserve what modesty he had around women that had seen him since he was a child and carefully brushed his fingers over the area. It was in the early stages of bruising and he knew his favored position of lying on his stomach while falling asleep would not be easy tonight. He pressed softly on the center and winced, "Damn, he really meant business."

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now and standing there cursing at a person not around to here it wouldn't be of much help either. He left the bathroom and headed down the hall towards his room, stepping inside and letting the cloth he used for a door fall closed behind him before his mother, Hana, or Kuromaru could manage to corner him. He had found upon returning home that the argument about weather or not he was going on the trip had not ended. It was too late and he was too tired to go back out so a nice bath had been his next retreat; but now that was over so he had to trust hiding in his room.

Akamaru was contently curled up at the foot of his bed, partially buried under the enormous mass of blankets. Kiba's bedroom floor was littered with clothes, magazines, and several different kinds of things to both eat and eat off of. Dog toys and shredded blankets and pillows were also strewn across the floor lazily but he knew nothing there was dangerous enough to step on. Despite this he had an easy and strangely graceful way by which to navigate through his room to his dresser. It was extraordinary how he managed it even while wearing a towel and attempting to keep that from falling as well. An open window rustled heavy gray curtains that had been pushed aside to let sunlight in but were now letting in a late evening glow.

The teen fished out a pair of comfortable and lengthy dark gray sweat pants and pulled them on, tying the string and shaking out his hair. Water droplets splattered over the assortment of junk and weapons littering the top of his dresser but he didn't pay any attention. Instead he moved back across the room to collapse in his bed, Akamaru giving a disgruntled snuff as Kiba crossed his legs over his back. He propped his arms behind him and against a nest of pillows while flashing a one-fang smirk at his companion. The dog simply sneezed and went back to trying to sleep as it had before being disturbed.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think Kankuro really had it out for me," Kiba started as he moved one hand back to rest over his tender stomach. The skin was slightly warmer than his cool hand and he inhaled to feel the skin stretch under his palm. It made him wince in pain again to do it but as he felt the battered muscles pull he curved his fingers to rake his nails over it lightly. The testing notion was responded to by a sharp gasp and Kiba instantly sinking back into his worn mattress.

Akamaru appeared to have taken an interest in what he was doing and kept an eye open to watch Kiba closely. Of course no one else would know of this sort of thing because it wasn't as though Kiba went around flaunting his scars or anything he really did to himself. But it seemed that under the watchful eye of his best friend, Kiba had lost the nerve to try that motion again and simply lay on his back with one hand resting, relaxed, just under the aching area, "He saw something today when he hit me. I should've been more careful." He shook his head and moved a hand back to run it through his drying hair, as the moisture disappeared it gradually returned to its usual messy and impossible to control state, "I'm such an idiot, what's he gonna think now?"

The dog at the foot of the bed seemed to raise a brow at the answer and it took Kiba a moment to catch on. Sitting up he raised his hands as though attempting to defend himself from something that wasn't there, his eyes slightly widened and on Akamaru, "N-Not that it matters or anything. I mean, what do I care what Kankuro thinks? Sure the guy saved my life but I repaid him for that and everything, he's just some sand ninja." Akamaru snorted in reply and Kiba narrowed his eyes, "I'm serious, Akamaru. He's just a friend…Hell, he isn't even really a _friend_. I don't know what he is, he's a Kankuro."

Akamaru played it off as though he believed what Kiba was saying when he yawned and closed his eyes, nuzzling back into his sleepy state. Kiba glared at his disbelieving best friend for a moment before shaking his head and falling back against the pillow, one arm behind his head. The ceiling above his head was mostly dark but glowing slightly with the golden-orange light of the lap on his bedside table. The painted ceiling was smooth and had been white once but had increasingly become darker over the years. Not in a disgusting way, just in a way that showed that continually cleaning the walls and ceilings wasn't important in this household.

Shadows and images danced over the ceiling, his eyes darted to keep up with them and he played the old game of trying to make sense of something that wasn't there to make sense of. It was a frustrating game if one focused too much but he knew it was the sort of pointless game that only he could enjoy. Yet something about that seemed completely alright with him and he knew it put him to sleep. His thoughts did continue to stray slightly as his hand brushed over the blue and purple muscle and skin of his stomach.

What was Kankuro doing in that forest, just walking like he said? He hadn't appeared to change much from that guy that was always looking for a fight two years ago. Then again, Kiba hadn't changed much himself either. What could he have been in Konoha for without having Gaara and Temari with him too? Those three always seemed to be together unless one of them was delivering a message; though Temari had come by for the Chuunin Exams a few months ago. As much as he hated to admit it, he did wonder what Kankuro thought of what he had seen…not so much that Kankuro's opinion it mattered but the principle of the thing. Damn, what did that phraseeven _mean_?

"He probably thinks I'm some insane kid with a pain fetish, huh?" Kiba mused out loud. Akamaru didn't reply which was a sign that he wanted to sleep and had resorted to ignoring Kiba entirely for the time being. The teen's eyelids fluttered and lowered halfway as he continued to watch the shadows dance across his ceiling and the subconscious attempt to bring them to focus would eventually give him a headache so he turned his light off. The last clinging fragments of light leaked in through his window but the shadows had stopped dancing and the images had disappeared. The teen yawned and very carefully executed a roll onto his side, keeping his hand resting over his stomach lightly, "He's a prick anyway, what do I care?" Letting his eyes slip the rest of the way closed he allowed that last thought to tug him in the direction of sleeping.

----------------------

"Shit!" Kankuro withdrew his hand from the opened torso of Karasu with a familiar sting along the inside of his finger. Blood was already rushing to the surface of his grease blotted hands and he quickly reached for a clean towel to hold over the wound. His green eyes narrowed offensively at the inner mechanics of his weapon and he knocked the cavity closed with a bump from his elbow as he turned to head for the bathroom. Holding the paper towel over the cut he turned on the water and to dunk his hands under it. The warmth stung against the fresh wound but after he washed it off it wouldn't be so bad, not even bandage worthy.

As he rinsed off the soap and sat back on the closed toilet seat drying his hands he more closely inspected the wound. It didn't run deep and wouldn't scar, very few injuries that he obtained from working on Karasu ever did. Though it was enough to make the young Sand-nin heave a sigh and lean back against the back of the toilet, holding his hand up to the light, "I'm tired enough to hurt myself but not enough to sleep, what a sick arrangement."

He grumbled in dissatisfaction and rose to his feet, dropping the towel in the sink and glancing at the clock as he migrated back towards the living room. Ten thirty wasn't really that late but he didn't have any reason to not be able to fall asleep, yet when he tried an hour ago it wasn't coming to him. The teenager fell onto the couch and propped his feet up on the table that Karasu was still strewn across. The second he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, the image of that Inuzuka kid flashed behind his eyelids. His tanned skin littered with scars, some of which Kankuro could recognize simply by how close they resembled some of his own. However, those claw marks on his sides and shoulders? Those were something entirely different.

He breathed through his nose in a slow and steady pace and imagined that look in Kiba's eyes after being punched. He may have over shot it with considering it lust, not everyone found everything sexual after all. But the idea of him being really far off seemed too wrong, there was definitely some kind of craving there. No matter what excuse he had come to in an attempt to not over shoot it, Kiba had _enjoyed _being hit. He liked the pain or something about it; Kankuro wasn't quite conceited enough to believe that someone simply being near him was enough to make them give that kind of look.

He slowly pried open his eyes and watched the ceiling come back into visibility through his blurry vision. Another point worth noting was that Akamaru hadn't jumped him after he had hit Kiba, the two were so close one would instantly assume that if Kiba got hurt Akamaru would go after the attacker unless told otherwise. Well he sure as hell knew that Kiba hadn't said anything but could Akamaru have smelled it? He was a _dog _after all, it wasn't a completely absurd thought, and he remembered someone telling him once that a heightened sense of smell is what let animals know when the females were in heat. He was sure Kiba wasn't a girl so he wouldn't be in heat but he must have had _some _kind of scent change when he was aroused, right?

"Thinking too much, thinking too much. Damn it brain, turn off," he growled as he sat forward and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. The pressure seemed to help his mind clear and something about the disappearing thoughts of the Inuzuka teen made him feel a bit more ready for sleep. Temari taught him that one, sometimes he couldn't sleep because he had other things to think about and his brain was trying to tell him that. Of course that was the short version and her general point; Temari made no show of not picking on him so the actual meaning was clouded with various other insults about how she was surprised he could think at all.

Hat and make-up already removed, Kankuro had been navigating around his inn room in just his day clothes without the gloves and shoes. It was a nice way to work because when he suddenly became tired he just had to find a place to lie down. Being bombarded with mission after mission for years on end had easily equipped him with the ability to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. Times like these he was thankful for such a gift as he stretched out on the couch with an arm tucked behind his head. He yawned and didn't bother to open his eyes afterwards; he should have guessed his restlessness was due to Kiba.

-----------------------

_Clack, tap, clack, tap_. Day two of arguing with his mother was all that Kiba had found himself waking up to that morning. Once again he walked into the kitchen with a sleepy yawn and had just turned around for the table with something to eat when he saw Hana sitting calmly once again and his mother standing with her arms crossed. His cheeks were puffed out slightly with a mouthful of cereal as his eyes flicked from Hana to his mother and back to Hana. The only thing his sister offered was a sort of 'Sorry little bro' kind of look that only made him growl slightly as he finished chewing.

Now the empty bowl sat on the table in front of him, licked clean of crumb and milk, and he had returned to rocking his chair back and forth. This time Akamaru was in the room and remained silently and obediently near Kiba in case of any need for back up. The one thing that most annoyed Kiba about these sorts of fights was that Akamaru really couldn't do anything. Even if his mom could understand what he was saying she never paid attention to Akamaru in a way that may have been useful to Kiba's case. So he was stuck on his own because of the usual annoying shift in power; she was mother and he was pup.

"What do I have to do to make you listen to me? I know dragging you there won't work now, you've grown up too much for that," Tsume sighed as she fell into her own chair and put her hands on the table much in the same way Hana did. This morning was different from yesterday because she wasn't just snapping at him that he was going. The sentiment was appreciated but he still didn't want to go, "You aren't a puppy anymore, Kiba. I can't make you do things that you don't want to do. I know that you said they were picking on-"

"They _were _picking on me," he growled, lifting his slitted gaze up from the bowl on the table to his mother who sat across from him. Her fingers tightened in the way they were laced together and he watched some of the tension slowly ease out of her shoulders. Growling was a prime offense in this household, he wasn't sure why he had pushed her with it but he had and she just let it go.

"Fine; but that doesn't mean you have to be the runt of the two and just let them get away with it by not going this year," she replied, her voice sharp but cool and steady.

"You just don't get it, Ma," he sighed after a moment and straightened up. His hands dropped down to rest on the chair between his legs, "It's not just that they were picking on me or making fun of Dad or anything. It's just that…even if I _was _gay, what would be so wrong with that?"

"Are you saying your gay, Kiba?" Tsume asked. Kiba lifted his head a tad quickly to see her expression for anger or something he should need to avoid. For the most part she just looked surprised and maybe a little uneasy; the topic had never come up. Well, maybe once, but she had told him they would accept whoever he was attracted to as long as they accepted him. But something about those sorts of talks was just sort of for comfort reasons; the parents always expect the kid to be straight in the end.

"N-No, it isn't that…" he moved a hand to scratch his nails along the back of his neck nervously. Why did he stutter that way? He glanced to Akamaru to see if the dog could pick up the scent of a lie but he was looking at Kiba with his usual companion-at-the-ready stare, "I-It's just that even if I was it's no big deal, right? I mean, it's just a relationship, they don't have to be jerks about it….if I was."

Tsume watched her son with careful and curious eyes before standing up silently and walking around the table. Kiba didn't look up to watch her movements but she placed a hand on his shoulder and kneeled down to be at level with him on the chair. As her hand moved to his cheek to lift his gaze to her own it was only then she could see something akin to anger and possibly hurt in her boy's eyes. What about this subject had become so touchy for him? If he wasn't gay then it didn't make any sense that he should be so nervous or angry over such a small thing. Then again…there was always the possibility he just hadn't realized it. She would push neither issue, not now; now she simply needed to console him.

Kiba swallowed nervously again and his mom smiled, shaking her head slightly, "No, Kiba, it isn't a big deal at all. It's only a bad thing to people who are ignorant; that's why you don't understand those kids. You've got a good head on your shoulders."

She ruffled up her son's sleep tossed hair and he nodded a little, exhaling a warm breath of relief as he looked away for a moment. Kiba had always been loud and arrogant, proud and well aware of who he was; all of his life he had understood himself. Perhaps this was the first big thing that had happened that was beyond even his large safety bubble, perhaps there were things he _didn't _know yet.

"Thanks Ma," he said and looked back at her, smiling in a way that showed those canine fangs of his. She nodded and hugged him, nuzzling her nose against his cheek in an affectionate way that a dog might.

"I still wish you would come," she told him as she pulled away and stood up. Kiba picked up his bowl and headed over to the sink to drop it in. She moved a little to see if she could catch his eye, "Why not bring Shino or Hinata with you again?"

Kiba flinched slightly, trusting that he was out of his mother's sight enough for that. Yeah right, like he ever wanted to bring Shino back there again. Hinata might not have been so bad but they'd probably just think he was playing cover up or something. He probably could have talked Shino into going with him to pretend and really get them off his back. If they thought he had a boyfriend then they wouldn't think the insults got to him so much; they'd have to leave him alone. But Shino? No way, the guy was his best friend; he wasn't going to ask something like that.

He leaned forward over the sink to reach the knob and hit his stomach, causing him to grimace slightly and bite back a pained sound. "Are you alright?" He could hear his mother moving forward to check on him but he with drew and held a hand up to halt her with a nod that he was okay. Damn, if he ever saw Kankuro again he was really going to-

"That's it!" He shouted it before he had time to realize what he had said.

"What's it? Did you hit your head on the faucet again?" His mother put her hands on her hips and narrowed her already dangerous looking eyes at her son. Kiba whirled around to look at his annoyed mother, still holding a hand to his stomach. When her eyes dropped to it, he dropped his hand.

"No. Ma, I have to go out for a little," he said as he headed for his room to get dressed from his T-shirt (worn to conceal the bruising) and sleep pants. With a clap of his hand against his thigh Akamaru was up and following after him.

"What? Where are you going all of the sudden?"

"Out! I gotta find someone," he said as he moved into his room and picked up a pair of pants and a short sleeved mesh shirt off the floor. He didn't know how long Kankuro had been or would be in the village but he knew he had to catch him before he left. He also hoped that his bluff would work well enough to make the plan go through; he wasn't one to think Kankuro was predictable.

"Who?" his mother called after him as he grabbed his jacket and threw it on. He was hopping out of his room on one foot and nearly bumped into Tsume who managed to step out of her son's way before he managed it. Kiba didn't answer as he ran down the hall and through the living room, throwing open the front door and nearly jumping out of his house.

---------------------------

A large yawn was audible from Kankuro's painted mouth as he looked down over the main street of Konoha from the balcony of his Inn room. People were shopping and kids were running around, darting between the legs of people as they chased after one another or a ball or some other thing worth chasing. His face paint was once again decorating his light skin and he was fully dressed in his two piece ensemble though missing his shoes and hat. One leg was bent up and the other curved around the front of it, his arm behind his head to keep him from uncomfortably resting against the bars of the safety-guard of the balcony.

"No wonder people from Suna take vacations here, it's like this place doesn't have anything wrong with it at all," he mumbled as he twitched is foot to the music emitting from one of the headphones remaining in his ear. His own home was still recovering from some money problems as well as the losses in the war with Konoha nearly two years ago. The damage was nearly completely repaired, thanks to Gaara being elected the Fifth Kazekage, but that still seemed to leave some gaps. Jounin were pushed to double up on missions and younger kids had to be selected for Genin ranks. It was predicted within the next month things would settle back as they used to be, but only waiting would tell.

The nice thing about Konoha was that no one really knew or pretended to know him; being a middle child back in Suna was a hassle. Mostly because people accepted Gaara as their leader and protector now so sometimes his recognition was just because he was Gaara's brother. He did have to admit though, having things between him and Gaara patched up had come to make his life a hell of a lot easier. He went through his days walking into his brother's office without a problem or worried he was going to be sand-squished. With the patches in the relationships around Gaara came Gaara's control, and that was a good thing for the entire village.

Drifting in his thoughts Kankuro must have missed someone calling him from the street at the top of their lungs. Kiba got numerous looks from people in both annoyance and shock, eventually it got to the point he gave up and ran inside. Somehow the fates had chosen not to forsaken him on his mission (and thus really decided to punish Kankuro) by having the desk clerk allow him up to the Sand nin's room. He was standing in the door that lead to the balcony by the time Kankuro opened his eyes and saw one out of breath and annoyed Inuzuka standing in front of him. He jumped slightly in surprise of seeing someone there but attempting not to show it; ever since he was a kid people always seemed to succeed in sneaking up on him when he was trying to relax!

"What the hell are you doing in here? Get out of my room!" he shouted and pulled himself to his feet via railing. Kiba was still doubled over attempting to catch his breath as Kankuro moved past him to open the door and kick him out.

"Found…you…"

"No, you didn't," Kankuro snapped and grabbed his hood, yanking it on and adjusting it without need for a mirror. He was never sure why he felt slightly self conscious around people without his hood but he did; especially when flustered.

Kiba stood up and caught his breath a bit easier as he turned around to see Kankuro standing near an open doorway. A puppy-like grin came to his face which only annoyed Kankuro more as he frowned and opened his mouth to tell him to get out again. Kiba managed to cut him off, "You're gonna close that door and listen to me or I'm going to get you banned from this village."

"_What_?" Kankuro sneered, not missing a beat in his reply. The Inuzuka child crossed his arms over his chest confidently at the annoyed expression and tone.

"You heard me."

"Yeah, but I don't think _you _heard you. Why the hell would I listen to something some dumb brat like you has to say? Get out of my room before I throw you over that ba-"

"It's against the Suna and Konoha Peace Treaty for you to come into this village and assault someone unless it's in self defense."

Kankuro stopped and closed his open mouth, narrowing his dark green eyes on the teenager in front of him. No one really took kindly to having someone barge into their room and start telling them what to do, Kankuro really was no different. In fact, if anyone was ever _incredibly _pissed off by such things it was him. However, with that kind of threat on him, he closed the door quietly and leaned back against it, stiffly crossing his arms and fixing Kiba with a very angry look, "What do you want?"


	3. Stage 3

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto; which I don't own! Dx  
**Pairing(s):** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warnings:** Swearing and some guyxguy action without actual sex.  
**Chapter Soundtrack:** Colors - Utada Hikaru, Nothing I Wouldn't Give - Vic Mignogna, Bring Me Down – Pillar, Fireproof – Pillar, Kiba's fight with Naruto - YouTube! (English)  
**Summery:** Kiba has now stabilized his place in the room (and doesn't risk being thrown over the balcony) but can he convince Kankuro to go along with his plan?  
**Author's Note:** Chapter Soundtrack is mostly just what I'm listening to while I write a chapter. No, I don't know why I post it now, I just try to find things to listen to and I'm finding that I'm failing. Recommend music to me! Dx God, ANYTHING!

I kept having random doubts throughout this chapter. Being a Kankuro x Kiba shipper for a while now I've read a decent amount of fanfiction about the two. Some of them good and some of them terrifying. I'm strongly trying to prevent my fanfiction from becoming the latter but at sometimes I just don't seem to be able to manage that. Then again, sometimes I don't find any real link to my writing because I'm the one writing it.

Kankuro doesn't seem like a whore does he? Because he isn't suppose to be a whore. He's kind of flirtatious but he's mostly just trying to mess with Kiba (who by the way doesn't know he's gay/bisexual/whatever the hell I make him yet).

Because most of the time we see Kankuro is when he's fighting I have to think of how he'd act away from that and really he's still a conflict seeker. He probably likes messing with people because he got messed with a lot when he was younger. But anyway, yeah! Chapter three, yay!

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Kankuro had moved to take a seat on the couch in the room as Kiba remained where he had been, still grinning that type of grin that made Kankuro want to remove his teeth individually without any form of pain killer. Though that idea could simply be the sadist in him rising up, the point was that he knew he wasn't going to do it. Not only would his conscious not allow him to hurt someone in such a brutal way that hadn't threatened his life first (or consented to it) but Kiba was right. Since Gaara had become Kazekage and had that grand meeting with Tsunade a few years ago there was a peace treaty between the two lands. However, why only _his _offense was counting here was beyond him so he decided to humor the little punk and hear what he had to say.

The Inuzuka was clearly feeling the heat of being in control as he shifted his crossed arms slightly more and leaned against the door frame he stood in. He wasn't sure if it was just being able to control something or knowing he had cornered not just Kankuro, but someone older, tougher, and that out ranked him that made him suddenly feel in the spot-light of a foreign kind of attention. Kiba's Chuunin Rank was a shot below Kankuro's Jounin one and even if one was right below the other that was for a good reason. Kankuro's skills cut it for the tough requirements for the Jounin rank; Kiba's didn't, not yet at least. So something about holding the strings to the other, no pun intended, was already making his bad day good.

"What do you want?" Kankuro repeated, sitting in the same way on the couch as he had been on the balcony except not leaning back. The position screamed 'Leave me the hell alone' but Kiba hadn't come here to talk about Kankuro's choice of sitting positions.

"A favor," he said. Kankuro snorted in a manner that implied blowing the idea off and that made Kiba drop his grin and glare slightly. He had never cared much for being brushed off for anything by anyone; Kankuro was no different. The Inuzuka boy finally moved from his position to sit in the chair that was opposite Kankuro and over the table. He glanced at the large wrapped form on the table with slightly weary eyes. The real Kankuro wouldn't have been in there right? _Why am I being so paranoid? He can't attack me anyway; he isn't stupid_.

"What kind of favor would you want from a foreigner that you can't get from someone in your own village?" Kankuro asked in a tone that subconsciously reminded Kiba of how his hands moved when he used the puppets. It was a tone that implied maneuvering; gracefully moving around in a way that appeared to not make any sense yet was really luring the prey into a vulnerable position. He had seen him use that attacking method on Sakon and Ukon and already knew that people's attacking styles could resemble their personalities. Kankuro was sure Kiba would have to be careful; he didn't doubt he could outsmart some loud mouthed kid.

He did his best to ignore the sly questioning and the way the annoyed green eyes of the Jounin watched him like he was waiting for a slip up. He couldn't help but notice the almost predatorial look in Kankuro's eyes as he elaborated on his situation. He explained about the trip and the insulting and his master plan as well as the part he wanted Kankuro to play in it. He noticed, for whatever reason, how telling Kankuro something was much different from telling Shino. He knew, had he gone to Shino with this plan, he would have been set with the same furrowed brow over the same round glasses. Where Shino's face remained the same, Kankuro's moved and seemed to acknowledge what he was saying.

His green eyes and furrowed brow reflected an intense anger as he mentioned the words 'fag' and 'faggot', he seemed amused at some of the things they had said about his friends and him aside from those insults. A painted brow would quirk in question at certain spots and Kiba could easily pick up on the hint to elaborate on a bit more. The Inuzuka wasn't sure at all why he continued to relate Kankuro back to conversations with Shino (who had his own silent language that Kiba took a full year to learn) but he continued to do it anyway. He settled it on the excuse that linking it back to Shino gave him some indication of how Kankuro was unfamiliar territory; it reminded him to tread lightly.

"So, you want me to go with you and your family on this trip to the middle of no where to prove to a bunch of kids they were right?" Kankuro asked as Kiba finished explaining. Kiba, who sat with both his legs bent up in the chair, shifted a little so he could growl at the offending face across from him. Kankuro couldn't help but find it amusing how Kiba's nose wrinkled and when he growled he really _growled_, it wasn't just an implication in his tone it was a completely different sound all its own.

"No, I want you to go with me and my family on this trip to the middle of no where to make a bunch of kids _think_ they're right so they'll leave me alone. If they think they're right and I don't make a big deal out of it then it won't be funny anymore," he corrected through clenched teeth. Kankuro stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankle, slouching more in his seat on the couch. He couldn't help but think that it was exactly what he had said except Kiba seemed to think he was fooling those kids in his version where he was really just fooling himself. At least that was Kankuro's opinion on the situation.

The brat's plan couldn't have been any more amusing or any more complicated; it was like some of the stories he heard people telling their kids. They completely ignore the simple solution to take on some complicated mess of a plan and insist on trying it that way. Not only that, but in the end the simple solution is what really works and the characters end up finally going with that. It was one of the reason he hated kids; everything always had to be such a pain in the butt with them. It was a waste of air to tell stories about a bunch of idiots and a waste of a perfectly good day to run around with a bunch of non-sense in your head. Then again, he was told he was too cynical about things and needed to lighten up; maybe something about being beaten by his father for much of his life affected this. Not that he was one to wallow in his own self pity really – he didn't blame his dad for that of all things. No, that was just another personality trait of his.

"And why would I do this? I don't owe you anything."

"Because I'm blackmailing you," Kiba said after a moment. The taste of those words on his tongue was a strange sensation. He had never really blackmailed anyone before; it was a really cheap way to get something. Sure, sometimes he threatened Shino and Hinata with things playfully but they were his friends and therefore it was different. He would never have told anyone the secrets those guys shared with him, but this was a different situation and Kankuro wasn't his friend.

"That's pretty dishonorable of you, kid," Kankuro said, raising his brows in an amused expression as a smirk threatened the edges of his dark painted lips.

Not many people just came out to proclaim they were blackmailing someone, this kid obviously didn't know the meaning of finesse. Where was the 'because you don't have a choice' line or the in control 'I've got you' look? 'Because I'm blackmailing you' just didn't have any sense of style, this was definitely his first time. It was almost a startling realization that not every family blackmailed each other like his had.

"I'm not a kid and you deserve it anyway."

"For what? Punching you? You ran into me first, what makes you think that isn't pay back?"

"I wasn't watching where I was going, _you _should have been paying attention."

"Hell of an excuse," Kankuro mumbled, rolling his eyes. He stood up and pulled Karasu off the table to lean the puppet against the wall out of the way. He could hear Kiba moving behind him, almost like he thought he was going to walk out and forget about it. He was certain now, obviously this kid had never blackmailed anyone; he should take lessons from Temari.

"I know you care if you get in trouble around here. Gaara'll have your ass on a tray if you screw up in this village; we both know it Kankuro," Kiba growled from behind him. Kankuro chuckled slightly and shook his head as he stood Karasu up against the wall.

"Yeah? And what makes you think I care?"

"_What_?"

Kankuro heard Kiba move before Kiba heard him and he was able to turn around quickly enough to dodge the claw aimed for his shoulder and catch it in a firm yet somehow delicate grip. It was as though his fingers were constricting but without the intent to bruise and just because that intent wasn't there didn't mean that it couldn't be. Kiba felt another hand at his throat and as he moved to step back from it Kankuro followed through. His lower back hit the back of the couch but Kankuro continued to push on his neck in a threatening display of force, leaving Kiba to arch back over the edge at an awkward angle.

His grip wasn't stopping Kiba's air-supply or stopping him from screaming, but for one reason or another he didn't. It was a pride issue, he had always been able to handle himself for the most part and when it became life or death _then _he would give up. This situation couldn't have been that way, Kankuro wouldn't have really killed him over this, so he didn't scream. His other hand moved to grip tightly at the cloth on Kankuro's side. There wasn't anything he could do with one claw – Kankuro would be able to start suffocating him before he got a decent swipe in. Of all the times to leave Akamaru outside.

"If you're going to blackmail someone, make sure they can't call your bluff. Also make sure they don't _outrank _you," Kankuro coolly remarked down to the pinned Inuzuka. Threads of charka circulated through Kiba's hand and soon he could feel the sting of claws delving for the skin of his side but he didn't move; it didn't hurt enough. He leaned forward over the other and pressed his stomach along the line of Kiba's, searching for that bruise. He knew when he found it because Kiba gasped and grimaced under the weight, his body giving a quick jerk.

The familiar surge of pain swept over Kiba's body from the stomach outward, like a sting but moving into a soft ache. The warmth of Kankuro's body lined along his increased the speed of that pain as it circulated throughout much of his body. He felt the heat go to his cheeks and gripped tighter at the other's side, but what for? Did he want Kankuro closer or for him to pull away? He jerked his head back and away from the hand on his neck and stifled a quick outcry as he wretched his body slightly. Kankuro pressed even more down on him increasing the two things he didn't want increased at that very instant; the pain and the heat.

"_Get off!_" He snarled and charka coursed through his body to his three most used areas in battle; claws, fangs, and nose. His head whirled with the same scent of Kankuro that he had from yesterday; sweat, dry heat, and his facial paint. Not only that but he could he smell the other's break fast and his increased adrenaline; he could pick up the faint scent of excitement along the body pressed so close against his own. Then suddenly it was pulled away as Kankuro drew back and let Kiba slide down to the floor. His claw reached to steady him on the couch and ended up scratching four lines down the back of it as it was let go and his other being forcefully yanked from where it was on Kankuro.

The Jounin stood a few feet back, one hand placed on the wall and the other fisted firmly at his side. He watched Kiba with bright aware eyes as the dog nin tried to catch his breath, slumped on the floor with his hands on either side of him. There was no denying it now; that kid definitely had something freaky about him. He swallowed and regained his composure, relaxing both his hands and the fingers twitched slightly as though testing that he was alert. They seemed ready to move in the same dances they would do when he was maneuvering his puppets but Karasu remained still against the wall.

Kiba moved his hands up to his lap and rested them on either thigh for a moment, attempting to catch his breath. Too many things to think about were cluttering his mind and straightening them out was only serving to annoy him more. Embarrassment and nervousness clutched at his gut with the intensity to kill and the strong scent of Kankuro swam in his nose. He wasn't sure when his body had started quivering ever so slightly but he prayed that his large gray jacket was enough to keep it from Kankuro's view. He heard the other chuckle at him as he managed to regain his own composure where Kiba could not.

_Calm down, Kiba. Calm. Down. _Kiba chanted the familiar mantra in his head and brought his hand up to his mouth. Without a second thought he sank his charka amplified fangs deep into the side of his own hand, piercing flesh with a familiar burning sting. Blood welled to the surface and dripped down the skin of his hand as well as the edges of his mouth. The pain and metallic scent of blood seemed enough to focus him and it brought his thoughts centered once again. His hand convulsed slightly like a captured prey but he continued to hold onto it with his sharp teeth, letting the grip of something in his jaws and the pain in his hand calm him back down again. It had worked for ages, one of the few tricks his father had taught him.

_Oh, that's right. He did that at the Chuunin Exams two years ago too, to level his head. I had the back up evidence I needed all along_. Kankuro mused, his mouth curving into more of a smirk as he looked down at the feral child. Kiba's breathing was returning to him and the minor convulsions Kankuro had caught seemed to be ceasing. The last time he'd seen Kiba do that, it had been in the middle of a fight where he was riled up and wild as it was. Apparently this kind of thing had the same effect on him even though Kiba didn't seem to realize it. He didn't even seem to realize he had just bitten his own hand either. He glanced away from the other towards the balcony; could Akamaru smell the blood? He didn't think for a minute that Kiba came to see him without bringing that dog along.

"You're one strange kid, I'll give you that much." Kankuro said after a moment, "Alright, I'll help you out." He looked back to Kiba and noticed the boy was looking up again but the look made him stop once more. His slitted eyes leered out from between the mess of brown hair and his hand held firmly in a trap of fangs and a clenched jaw. As the blood leaked down the side of his hand Kankuro felt the look scream something at him, it was wild, yes, but it was like the sort of look one might see in a particularly mean dog. Yet somehow it didn't make Kankuro think he was going to be attacked, more like Kiba was ready for an attack. More ready than he should have been with Kankuro standing such a safe and non-threatening distance away, "Hn, what's with the look?"

He watched as Kiba eased his hand out of his mouth with a strange wet sound because of the blood. It dripped down his hand and soaked into the material of his pants; Kiba looked at his hand almost like he thought about licking the vital liquid away but instead swiped the back of his sleeve over his blood painted mouth, "Nothing." He pulled himself to his feet with some help from the back of the couch and pulled his hand back into his sleeve, using his other hand to hold the gray material tight over the newly acquired bite marks, "If you want to help you're going to have to meet my mom."

"Great, she bite herself too?" Kankuro asked as he headed towards the bathroom. Kiba lifted his face up to glare at the retreating form and followed, mostly for lack of anywhere else to go he, told himself. Kankuro turned on the faucet and turned around to pull Kiba towards the sink but the other drew back with a surprising swiftness. The Jounin smirked, "You're pretty alert for someone who's only real injury is from himself."

"Shut up. I can do it myself," he snapped in reply and jabbed an elbow into Kankuro's gut as he passed. He thrust his hand under the hot water and sharply sank his canine tooth into his lip to keep from yelping as it burned the wound.

"You always hurt yourself like that?"

Kiba had just snatched the soap when the question came a tad abruptly and he dropped it into the sink. He moved his eyes to the mirror while Kankuro shifted more into view behind him, still smirking something conceited that Kiba wasn't sure he wanted to understand. Kankuro watched his nose wrinkle in distaste and he distracted himself by scrubbing the wounds in his hand. This kid really was something else and for once it was a something else Kankuro couldn't completely place his finger on. He was, however, completely pleased with himself for being right about Kiba enjoying pain.

"I've done it ever since I was a kid," Kiba said. Kankuro's smirk slipped for a moment and something akin to gaping surprise replaced it as he looked for the other's eyes in the mirror. They weren't there; only the top of his head was visible with the way it was tilted down to watch what he was doing. He must have uttered some form of questioning sound because Kiba continued, "I always bite myself, I have ever since I was a kid. It's just the only thing that gets me focused and calms me down when I'm…not focused or calm."

The hesitation and jerky motions were all too obvious of a statement that Kiba might have been thinking something else. Once again Kankuro was left unknowing of what that could have been because he had seen two different instances in which Kiba had attacked himself. A fight and just now; the two were similar in nature but Kankuro had been careful not to hurt Kiba seriously. He leaned on the bruise but he wasn't threatening him dangerously which left there to be an entire other world for Kiba to be talking about.

The dog-nin pressed a paper towel tightly over his hand as he turned around, face suddenly different from the way it had been over the past few minutes. He seemed amused and conceited the look he had arrived with earlier. The look that made Kankuro want to remove his teeth individually all over again, "So, you any good at lying?"

"What?"

"Our relationship seems to be built a lot around that question."

The two left the room with Kiba filling him in on what Kankuro had already strongly suspected; dogs could smell lies and because the Inuzuka worked so closely with dogs _they _could pick the scent of lies. Tsume had used the charka-scent-amplifying move so often that her sense of smell had become naturally keener (though not so sharp that the move was rendered useless) and if Kankuro lied she would have a way of knowing it. As they got back onto the street, Kankuro shifted Karasu over his shoulder and Kiba called Akamaru from the ally. The great dog jumped up from where he had been lying to bound over to his owner and lick him on the cheek. Kiba hadn't seemed to realize Kankuro's shock until the dog went over to sniff him.

"W-What the hell? There's no way this is the same mutt from before. He was a hell of a lot smaller last time I saw him. He can just _eat _your opponent now," Kankuro scoffed. Akamaru tried to sniff at his face but he batted the dog away for Kankuro himself had never really cared for dogs, it wasn't as though he hated them it was more just…well…he didn't like them. He didn't like most animals honestly and as he saw Akamaru he started to wonder why _exactly _he had signed on for this.

"I never really noticed that he'd gotten that big," Kiba said with a shrug, brushing it off as though it was no big deal. To him it really wasn't, he had spent day and night with Akamaru so the dog's growth to such a size wasn't completely a shock to him. But he could understand where other people, who hadn't seen Akamaru in some time, may have been surprised, "Come on, let's get going."

"Right," Kankuro sighed and kept his stride up with Kiba's, "So, what's my story exactly?"

"Story?"

"You're joking. You want me to lie but you don't even know what I'm lying _about_?"

"Huh, never really thought of it," Kiba mused and stopped walking. He scratched a hand through his brown hair and shifted his slitted gaze towards the sky. Kankuro slapped a hand over his face in disbelief that was, surprisingly, targeted more at himself for thinking an idiot like Kiba could have come up with a decent plan, "Just tell her you're a friend of mine. I mentioned that you showed up to save me in that fight a while back so she'll at least have heard of you. She won't like the plan but I think she'll go along with it."

"Are you serious?" Kankuro realized how stupid the question was the instant he asked it because of the look Kiba gave him. The kid seemed completely confused, like the idea of some secrecy about things like this was a completely foreign concept. It took Kankuro a few minutes to realize that his family was the weird standard, not Kiba's. "Right, so the only lying is pretending I actually keep company like you?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Kiba replied. Kankuro thought he had been home free until that tanned face of his shifted to something more resembling a snarl, "Wait a minute, what do you mean 'company like you'?"

"What do you _think _I mean?"

"You're such a prick, you know that?" Kiba shouted.

The Jounin smirked and moved forward to catch Kiba by the front of his jacket and pull him close; apparently the movement was unexpected because Kiba's eyes immediately widened. He put his hands on Kankuro's and threatened to dig his nails in, Akamaru growling at his side but unwilling to move without command, "You're going to make this boyfriend thing really tough, aren't you kid?"

"I'm not a damn kid, put me down Kankuro!" Kiba snapped. Suddenly he was yanked forward surprisingly close to the Sand-shinobi's face and his eyes met with dark green. He had never really been close enough to Kankuro to notice his eye color or give it much attention. For some strange reason he always assumed they were black or that he never _opened _them in the first place. However, suddenly being so close allowed him to notice that they were, in fact, a very dark green. Darker than any other shade of green he could remember seeing in another person or nature.

Kankuro watched as, for whatever reason, Kiba's eyes dropped from their locked gaze to descend southward. They flicked over his painted nose and cheek markings and landed directly on his dark decorated mouth; or at least his top lip. Kiba's hands were still tight over his own in mid threaten as though Kiba had forgotten why he even put his hand there in the first place. Kankuro's eyes moved down as though trying to follow Kiba's gaze but he was well aware he was incapable of looking at his own lips. He watched Kiba visibly swallow and was unable to refrain from widening his smirk. Kankuro's lips parting slightly to reveal white teeth must have broken some trance because those eyes shot up again and Kiba yanked out of his grip.

The Inuzuka spoke first, dropping his hands and clenching them tightly at his side as he turned around to keep walking, "Stop _doing _that." His voice was almost a harsh whisper, but loud enough that Kankuro could hear it.

"Doing what?" Kankuro asked with words that alluded towards an innocence he didn't throw in his tone. Kiba's hands moved up to tug at his own messy hair as he shook his head, shoulders tightening and letting out a low, frustrated scream.

"_That! _Knock it off! You're unbelievable!" Kiba jumped at the feeling of Kankuro's hand on his side and expected the other to come up on his left but Kankuro more slyly slipped towards his right. He smirked over Kiba's shoulder and slipped his other hand down to rest on the Inuzuka's hip. Kiba froze as though someone had pressed the cold blade of a kunai against his neck.

"You don't know the half of it." Kankuro chuckled low in his throat as he moved to slide around the teenager and continue walking in the direction they had been going. It was true that he didn't know his way to the estate but Kiba was bound to snap out of it in a few minutes.

"Dammit, Kankuro!" the teenager shouted after him as he ran to catch up. Kankuro tucked his hands safely in his pockets and kept walking; being the innocent little foreigner that he was.

----------------------------

Persuading Tsume hadn't been as easy as Kiba made it sound, she kept shooting looks at Kankuro that didn't seem like she trusted him. He also noted that when he opened his mouth and he wasn't suppose to or said something wrong he got a look from Kiba. She hated the idea too, but in some weird way she seemed to have understood what Kiba planned on doing. It took some convincing and work from him for her to agree with it and when she did she seemed to regret it.

She pointed out how she and Hana didn't know Kankuro and this gathering was for people close to them. Kiba argued that Kankuro had saved his life and it was rude to tell him that he couldn't come (Kankuro had to act like he _wanted _to go). Most of the time Kankuro remained just inside the doorway to the living room, waiting to answer questions with a "Yes ma'am" "No ma'am" or some other variation of response that showed a respect he wasn't sure he even _had_. But in the end it worked and that was all that really mattered.

Nearly two hours later, Kankuro was walking back to his inn room with Kiba still at his side, boasting about how he had managed to make it work. His arms were tucked behind his head as he gloated and leaned back partially, Akamaru barking replies that Kankuro didn't understand and would have thought himself insane for if he had. After about fifteen minutes of hearing Kiba talk to the stupid _dog _about what had happened he grabbed the boy by the elbow and pushed him into a wall; this of course earned him a shout and bark in annoyance and high tension.

"Listen, you may have gotten away with this 'friendship' thing with your mom but I'm not going to half-ass it on this trip. If I'm losing weeks worth of missions for you and your pride then it's going to be worth my while," Kankuro sneered. Kiba's eyes had started wide but narrowed at being cursed at and told his own plan back to him.

"Yeah? And who said I was going to half-ass it?" Kiba snapped in reply. The painted lips he had been so distracted by a few hours ago turned into that all-too-pleasant smirk again. Kankuro's body pressed against his own sharply, probably eclipsing it entirely from other people on the street. He fisted his hands in the front of Kiba's jacket which left him unable to move or get in a good enough hit to knock Kankuro away. His face returned to that intense closeness once more and Kiba's slitted eyes were up again, lost in that forest of dark green.

Akamaru barked but didn't move; once again Kankuro could feel that sense of safety in the fact that he was doing _something _right. _Something _that kept Kiba from being nervous enough or tense enough to make Akamaru attack him. He had yet to fully figure out what that something was but it involved being close enough to feel the heat of the other's body through his black clothing. It involved Kiba being able to pick up his scent without needing to enhance his nose and it involved that burning ache of a firm weight against the bruise on his stomach.

"If you chicken-out on me I'll hurt you to the point you won't even be able to enjoy it," Kankuro's voice rang in low and dangerous. Kiba felt something thick and nervous slide down his throat when he swallowed and something about his body felt entirely vulnerable. That heat was back in his cheeks, coursing along his body like someone was holding a candle close but not close enough to hurt him. The Jounin's presence had something powerful and almost overwhelming about it, it was dangerous in a way that made Kiba feel something entirely unexplainable.

"I won't chicken-out," he shot back, almost surprised at how strong and challenging his voice was. It only served to make Kankuro smirk even more before pushing away, somehow managing to knock Kiba back into the wall he thought he had already been pinned to.

Without another word Kankuro continued back to the inn on his own; Kiba's trip wasn't for a few more weeks. He would need to return to Suna earlier than he planned and shift his requested vacation later to be able to make it. Gaara, as well as the others working at the Missions Office, weren't going to be happy about this and he knew it. But his smirk stayed firmly in place as he continued walking back; he'd get away with it and he knew it. He was also confident that he'd be getting away with a lot more while he was on this trip.


	4. Stage 4

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing(s):** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Not much really, Kiba flirting.  
**Chapter OST:** Liar + I Want My Innocence Back - Emilie Autumn; Breathe In - Frou Frou  
**Summery:** Kiba meets up with Shino one more time before his trip and Kankuro arrives at Konoha.  
**Author's Note:** Mwaha! This is a short chapter for a reason. Mostly because I didn't want to blend it into them actually leaving for the Mist and I didn't want to do the Kiba talking to Shino bit in a flash back. So it's a short chapter, only about two and two-thirds page in Word.

**Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters?** I don't like the idea that I over-whelm you with too much text at once. I'm thinking of shortening down my chapters a little; but not making them void of anything of course.

I have some cute ideas for some up coming moments during the trip but I'm going to need to think a little about the events that happen once they really get there. I had to change the amount of time taken for the trip to a week and a half (I don't know if I mentioned how long they were going to be gone originally) because it's taking three days to get to the Mist.

So three days there and three days back would be too long so it's about a week and a half for the Inuzuka but Kankuro probably got in serious trouble for asking for two weeks off (he needs another three days to get back to Suna because he is NOT Rock Lee and just can't move that fast - nor does he really _want_ to). I feel almost smart for thinking of that.

I hope you guys read these notes. They're kinda important sometimes.

Don't imagine Kankuro in green spandex because of that note. D:

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Kiba burrowed his hands further into the pockets of his leather jacket as he headed down one of the lamp-lit dirt roads of Konoha. Various other people passed him, enjoying their Friday nights with friends or getting in a last hour or two of hanging out with companions before going on a mission the next morning. For once, Akamaru was not at his heels as he headed down the street and pushed aside a banner to move inside a small, out-of-the-way tea shop. The different types of tea sent out a mixture of spicy, sweet, and miscellaneous other scents to swirl and go up his sensitive nose. The sudden bombardment of smells made him instinctively move a hand up to rub under his nose to keep him from sneezing as a waitress noticed him out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, Kiba, are you looking for Shino?" she asked with a smile at seeing the teenager. Her auburn-brown hair was held up in a high pony-tail as she set cups down amidst speaking with him.

"Yeah Kazumi, have you seen him?" he asked. She nodded and waved for him to follow her and lead him to the bar maintained in a separate room from the rest of the tea house. It only served tea, like the rest of the house; it was really just a different choice of seating. Sure enough, the moment he walked in he saw Shino sitting in a dark turtleneck and pants across the room.

"Can I get anything for you before I go?" Kazumi asked.

He shook his head and continued in Shino's direction, "No thanks, I'll get something while I talk with Shino. Thanks Kazumi."

"No problem kiddo," she smiled and turned to head back to the rest of the shop.

Kiba pulled up a seat on the stool beside Shino's and immediately ordered Jasmine tea, not because it was his favorite but because Shino had a subtle way of complaining when he ordered anything with a stronger scent. The Aburame was already drinking from a small glass of his own and, had Kiba not known any better, he may have thought that Shino hadn't even noticed him sit down. His shades never moved in the other's direction and what he could make out of the corner of Shino's eye didn't seem directed at him.

"You're late," he spoke up after taking a sip of his tea and setting the glass down once again. Kiba sighed and drummed his fingernails against the side of the bar for a moment.

"Packing, sorry, Ma wouldn't let me leave until I finished. I think she's rethinking this entire Kankuro thing," Kiba replied.

"At least one of you is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked, turning to fix his friend with an annoyed look in his black slitted eyes. Shino still didn't turn to face him but sometimes Kiba didn't think that mattered anyway because those shades covered any kind of indication that Shino was even focused on him anyway. Sometimes when the light hit the back of the glasses right he could manage to see Shino's eyes, but the light in the tea house wasn't nearly bright enough for that anyway.

"Think about it, Kiba," Shino explained, "You don't _know _Kankuro that well and it isn't as though he's incredibly…_friendly_."

"So? You aren't exactly _friendly_ either," he argued, turning forward again. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Shino's brow furrow hard into an aggravated expression of his own.

"But you and your family _know _me," he pointed out. Kiba took up his glass as it was set on the table to take a drink. The action was more for occupying himself so he temporarily abandoned common sense and ended up having to resist the automatic reaction to yelp when the hot liquid scorched his tongue and throat. He managed to put it down calmly and pressed his burning tongue to the top of his mouth as though that helped it to cool down. In reality it didn't and he was getting that tingling kind of burning yet numbing sensation in his mouth that he fought to ignore.

"Are you jealous that I didn't ask you to go?" Kiba asked more spitefully than he meant it. He raised a brow at Shino out of the corner of his eye but the expression was still fixed in place. Shino brought his own tea up to his mouth again to take a sip in the same way Kiba had intended earlier except being much more careful about it.

"I never said that," he replied in a tone Kiba found condescending but decided not to comment on it for the sake of not getting in an argument with his best friend before he left for a week and a half. Instead the Inuzuka sighed and focused on the warm glass in front of him, watching the dim light dance across the dark liquid.

"He's not going to do anything that I wouldn't let him get away with. You know how my Ma is with new people Shino; you were one of them once." Shino and Kiba both reflected back on how protective Tsume had been of her son when she first met Shino and Hinata. It wasn't as though she attacked them but there was the tension there that all of them could feel; though Kiba's tension was mostly embarrassment. Tsume pointed out that it was natural for a mother to be ready to protect her pups but Kiba argued that they weren't going to do anything anyway. Also that they were his new team and she would have to get used to them anyway.

"You were younger then, she trusts you more now."

Kiba snorted, "Yeah, but who is it she _doesn't_ trust?"

Shino sighed, feeling both defeated and a little stupid in the face of Kiba's point. Tsume was a protective woman and was unlikely to let anything happen to Kiba that Kiba didn't invite himself. Hana was the same way as well with her little brother; his point was being ripped to shreds. He couldn't help but feel a bothersome foreboding feeling despite this; what if Kiba _did _invite something? Weather it was intentional or not, Kiba wasn't exactly known for backing down from things he probably should have just backed down from. Shino also didn't particularly trust Kankuro; the guy had _poisoned _him, weather he was good at holding grudges or not -- something like that wasn't exactly forgivable.

Then again, wasn't it Kankuro that had come to Kiba and Akamaru's aid when the guys went out on a mission he wasn't around to assist with? He felt some guilt over not being around when he was needed but he couldn't begin to think about the guilt he would have felt if Kiba had actually been killed. The Inuzuka had said himself that if Kankuro hadn't arrived he and Akamaru wouldn't be here now. So, perhaps, to some, extent he really did owe Kankuro more than he was giving him. _But that doesn't mean I have to trust him or Kiba _with _him on this trip. _

"You worry too much, you know? Take a chance every once in a while and don't try to figure every last detail out first," Kiba said, putting a hand on Shino's shoulder and leaning against him playfully. The stiff teenager didn't move from his spot but did relax slightly under the almost reassuring gesture of his friend's hand. He took another drink from his glass and sighed.

"You don't worry enough," he replied but already the tension was easing out of him and the conversation at hand. He looked over at Kiba to be met with that single-fang grin that made his brow relax and his face calm, even if he didn't smile. How he could keep such reckless company and manage to not go out of his mind was beyond him, but he did have three years practice.

--------------------

The two had left the tea shop and were heading back towards the Aburame Estates an hour or so later. The Estates that Shino's family lived on hugged the eastern wall of the village and had been there before his clan had even been around. The Inuzuka had settled in Konoha at least a decade or two after the Aburame and the Hyuuga only five or so years after them. Kiba was a firm believer in the fact that some clans seemed to be around longer simply by the ways they acted and were set in their ways. The Hyuuga had their own personalities and the Aburame had theirs, both of them seemed so much more elite than Kiba's family. It was probably simply because their mysterious ways and genius ninja generation after generation gave them some grander merit. But he never cared much; he loved his family and knew he wouldn't have been able to stand a clan as elite as Shino's anyway.

"This week is still going to be a waste of my life," Kiba said, lifting his eyes up towards the dark sky above him. Shino elected not to reply for the moment but Kiba was used to the subtle and non-existent responses that secretly meant things beyond comprehension of most people. Sometimes he took joy in saying shocking things simply for the sake of getting some reaction most people wouldn't expect. Aburame's weren't as emotionless as everyone liked to make them out -- but a lot of them didn't have the reason to get to know them.

Suddenly Shino stopped walking and shifted his feet in a way signaling one of two things; he planned to make his move or he was uneasy. Kiba glanced at his friend and followed his eyes in the direction ahead of them. Sure enough his uneasiness was due to a person standing not ten yards from them, supporting two scrolls and a back-pack he wasn't normally seen with. Kiba followed the Jounin's annoyed look back to Shino's face and found that if he followed Shino's gaze he would end up at Kankuro's face. He rolled his eyes and lowered his arms, moving to stand more ahead of Shino and catch the teenager's attention from the corner of his eye, "Relax, would you? We've had a treaty with them for two years now; he isn't going to attack you."

"It isn't _me _I'm concerned about," Shino replied, his eyebrows slanting even more over his glasses. Kiba could feel the weight of the other's worried gaze on him through the glasses and it sank in more than it would have been able to if he could have seen Shino's eyes. He sighed and moved forward, putting his hand on Shino's shoulder again.

"I'll be alright Shino, I promise. I'm a big Chuunin, I can handle myself," he said, smiling in an attempt to lessen his friend's sour mood.

Sometimes he thought what Shino felt may have been jealousy but he quickly realized that it was simply an attachment. Kiba and Hinata had been his first real friends outside of the other kids in his own clan, had Hinata been doing something like this he would have been just as worried. The urge to protect each other rose up in all of them when it came down to the dangerous situations but Shino really was making this a hell of a lot more dangerous than it should have been.

"Just…watch yourself," Shino said after a moment, his voice low with a sigh. At his friend's loss of tension, Kiba grinned once again and started walking backwards in Kankuro's direction. Shino remained where he was with his hands in his pockets. They fisted, unnoticeably, around the edges of his sleeves as he watched his best friend disappear in the direction of someone that had nearly cost him his own life.

"I'll be home again before you have the time to enjoy the silence!"

Kankuro shifted his bag on his back as he waited for Kiba to call out his last remarks and finish the jog in his direction. The trip _here _had been pain-staking enough and he wasn't looking forward to waking up early in the morning for another three day trip to the Mist.

The Suna native couldn't say he was even looking forward to visiting the Mist. His reasons for this were quite simple; he didn't like islands, boats, or anything pertaining to either of the two. The reality of the fact that one-third of the trip involved being on a boat hit him hard when he received Kiba's scroll about things he would need to pack and he had been faced with an intense sinking feeling in his stomach.

"You're bringing your summon scrolls? On a vacation?" Kiba asked as he tucked his hands back in his pants pockets and started moving with a different company at his side.

"Are you bringing the dogs?"

"…good point," he sighed in defeat. He wasn't expecting there to be any reason for Kankuro to need his scrolls the way his family naturally kept their canine-companions with them. But he did have to accept the fact that Kankuro's puppets were of just as much importance to him as the dogs were to them, "You're not going to be whining for sleep during the run tomorrow are you?" He smirked as Kankuro yawned and fixed him with a glare.

"I don't whine," he replied, training his look back forward. The two continued walking in silence and had started to head into the dark of the forest surrounding the Inuzuka Estate when Kankuro spoke up again, "Hey, remind me again why you don't just take Shino with you?"

"I just don't want to put him through that mocking again," Kiba said, "He's got a lot of control but if something happens I don't want him to get in trouble on my behalf."

"But me getting in trouble is okay?" Kankuro asked, more curious if Kiba had even caught on to that then the actual answer.

"Do _you_ have an entire clan to disgrace when you beat up a bunch of kids for calling your best friend names?" Kiba perked a brow in the other's direction.

Kankuro smirked slightly with a low chuckle, "Touché." Kiba smirked slightly himself and moved his hands back behind his head to lean backwards as he continued walking.

Stars were visible in flickers between the leaves and branches of the canopy above their head, the moon was only about half full so it didn't illuminate much. Soon shadows stretched to greet their feet as they headed down the pathway towards the house and the warm golden light of the house was visible. Akamaru lifted his head and quickly got up to bound over and greet his owner.

"Besides," Kiba said after a moment, watching his friend come to greet him. Kankuro glanced over at him curiously, though it may have been hard to tell by his expression. Kiba grinned at him from around his arm, "No one would buy that Shino's my type."

He ran ahead to greet Akamaru and left the surprised puppet master standing a tad dazed behind him. 


	5. Stage 5

The Inuzuka family and Kankuro woke with the sun the next morning and were setting out before the sunlight fully managed to spread over the walls of the village. Their eyes adjusted to the dim blue-like glow of the morning's twilight as they walked down the flat stone pathway leading towards the nearest gate from the village. Hana had woken up to make a meal that now filled their bellies and was sure to keep them satisfied until they stopped for lunch which stood several hours away. Just in case of some fatigue or the chance of attack, food pills were passed out to all of them and tucked away safely in pouches at their waists. Kankuro himself had never used a food pill but was assured of their safety and the only side-effect would be more willingness to sleep when they stopped.

All of them carried packs but because of his scrolls, Kankuro had to maneuver his differently. Thankfully, the summoning scrolls had long since stopped feeling too heavy to him and they were safely strapped to his tan pack, Karasu on bottom for easier access and Kurorai on top in case of a more dangerous battle. It was unlikely that they would receive any trouble on their trip but it was better to be safe than sorry. Each of the Inuzuka members had brought their dogs along as always; Kankuro was not hassled for his own precaution.

As they got outside the village walls all four took up a run down the open pathway and headed in south. The day would grow hotter as the sun got higher and the cool morning air was more ideal for running in. They had several hours to make a lot of ground before their first break and intended to make all that ground as soon as possible. Tsume remained at the front with Kuromaru at her side and Hana with the Haimaru Sankyodai directly behind her. Bringing up the rear left Kiba, Akamaru, and Kankuro moving side by side down the well used pathway. The Suna shinobi had no doubt that, had this been a more serious situation or mission, the entire group could easily out run him, but for the sake of pacing he kept up quite easily with their speed.

Occasionally he would glance across the pathway to see Kiba's face against the blurring forest they passed. Unlike someone more childish, when the other caught him looking he didn't look away but rather smirked and pushed his speed up slightly more. Kiba took notice of the challenge and called Akamaru to speed up with him and keep up. The game continued for a stretch of miles before Hana snapped at them to get back into formation and stop messing around. The two boys smirked competitively at each other out of the corners of their eyes and mouths but remained quiet.

Around noon Tsume sent the signal back for them to slow to a walk as the sun crept closer up into the sky and effectively warmed them all up. Kankuro was well used to the heat as well as running for hours on end and immediately caught his breath after a few strides. Hana and Tsume, who had been dressed for a warm day, did the same but at his side Kiba unzipped his jacket and let it hang open as he walked. Kankuro caught sight of a mesh shirt under his jacket before looking back forward again and smirking slightly to himself once again.

"What're you smirking about?" Kiba asked, shooting an annoyed look at the Jounin.

"A very accurate image of you without a shirt," he replied in a completely casual voice as though the statement was completely normal. Kiba hadn't realized he had stopped until Akamaru unintentionally ran into the back of his legs and nudged him forward. He jogged to catch up with Kankuro and stepped a little closer to him as they walked.

"Are you always like that?" he asked, glancing towards Hana and Tsume. The two didn't seem to notice any difference in the amount of noise from behind them but Kiba knew different and he was sure Kankuro did as well. However, unlike Kankuro, Kiba was prone to caring what his family thought of their conversation or to some extent anyway.

"Like what?" Kankuro questioned with a look as though he truly didn't understand what Kiba had just asked him. Kiba's slitted eyes blinked in disbelief before he made a wide gesture with his hand towards the other.

"Just acting so…so-"

"Spit it out."

"_Out there_," Kiba said. Kankuro's eyes flicked over him as though he were attempting to judge what he was asking. Kiba couldn't really claim to read the expression that he saw from the other, it wasn't as though he was angry but more just…thinking. He was contemplating whether to give Kiba a straight answer or not.

After a moment he shrugged and looked forward again, closing his eyes in that way Kiba remembered him always standing at the exams, "Guess so."

Kankuro listened for another question but when it didn't come he instead heard the shuffle of feet as Kiba moved back over to walk alongside Akamaru. He wasn't sure as to if he would get away with that answer or not but Kiba seemed to have dropped it. But even as his feet shuffled along the dirt road he could hear Kiba cussing and questioning Akamaru. There were obviously no answers about Kankuro that he could get from Akamaru but it _did _help him seem less insane then he would appear to be talking to himself; just a little.

Hana jogged a few steps to catch up with her mother, her thumbs hooked in the straps of her bag like a teenager heading to school. Her team stayed behind but she glanced over her shoulder just to make sure Kiba and Kankuro weren't paying attention either. Kankuro had taken to looking off towards one side while Kiba was looking down to Akamaru and chatting as they walked. Once she was sure they weren't paying attention she looked forward and spoke, "You think this is really a ploy?"

Tsume said that it was only fair that Hana had been clued in so she found out about her brother's plan the night before. She seemed to find it rather amusing in the face of her mother's suspicions, but Hana had always been the friendlier and gentler one of the two women in the household. Tsume didn't bother to glance back at the two before speaking herself, "I think we'll know once Kiba knows."

"Ma, you think he might be…" the younger blinked at her mother in a mix of surprise and curiosity. Tsume didn't seem to acknowledge this look and only spared a glance in Kuromaru's direction.

"I don't think in one direction over the other," she said. Hana had never been fully able to read what her mother was thinking through her words and this was one of the instances where she wasn't sure at all. She knew that pushing would get her no where except in an argument and perhaps fixed with a very dangerous look. She looked back to the boys again and saw that Kankuro had returned to looking ahead, but his gaze didn't seem to be on them.

"And what of Kankuro?"

"Now that boy, I do not like." Hana had to suppress the laughter she felt welling in her chest at her mother's sudden and quick response. Tsume was usually a protective woman and Hana discovered this easily when she first started dating. She was not surprised that she proclaimed that, but perhaps a little surprised that she had no heed of how loudly she had voiced it. Glancing back again she noticed both Kiba and Kankuro looking in the direction; but Kankuro's painted face seemed a little more focused than it had been moments ago.

Without another word Hana fell back into her place in the formation and it was Kiba who spoke up next, "Nee-chan, what were you talking with Ma about?"

"That's none of your business," she replied, though she did spare her brother a glance out of the corner of her eye. Kiba must have caught her amused smile because he too fixed her with a frown and seemed suspicious of her actions and their conversation.

Kankuro wasn't as amused by such a thing and was once again left questioning why he had agreed to come along in the first place. He had been told immediately by Tsume that if he did anything that she didn't deem 'all right' that he would be in big trouble. Normally the threat wouldn't have bothered him as much except that Tsume was his own rank and therefore could probably give him a run for his money. As well, she fought with a dog and Kankuro had seen how well Kiba and Akamaru fought together and would rather not be on the opposite side of the battlefield while seeing Tsume and Kuromaru in action. He would admit to being a tad sadistic, but masochistic he was _not_.

At that thought he once again found his reasoning for walking with a woman who didn't like him, a woman he was in different to, and a boy that had always been a tad too hard-headed for his tastes in company. It was because the last of the trio (un-including the dogs) was possibly the first person Kankuro had seen hurt that seemed to enjoy it. Even if he denied it strongly, Kankuro could easily sense that there was _something _there. After all, if there wasn't there than Kiba wouldn't be denying it.

A crack echoed from ahead of him and immediately turned in the direction of the sound, had it been the cracking of a stick or a rock he may not have been so prone to alertness but this was more like a bone cracking. Kiba caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up himself, first to his sister and then back to Kankuro. Hana had reached up to crack her fingers while walking, a feat which was not unusual to any Inuzuka seeing as their hands were often prone to stiffness because of the way they turned to claws while fighting. He could see Kankuro relax when he looked back to the other and raised a brow, "What was that?"

Kankuro looked at him blankly, "What was what?"

"That," he said, gesturing to his sister with his thumb as though that made it much clearer. Kankuro looked at Hana and back to Kiba with a raised brow of his own, making the Inuzuka roll his eyes in annoyance, "The way you suddenly got sharp when she cracked her fingers. You'd think you never heard someone do that before."

Kankuro's once completely broken hand tightened slightly in his pocket but he was sure Kiba didn't notice it and the rest of his arm seemed still in his black sleeve. He looked forward again in a manner akin to brushing the question off, "I have."

"Then why did you do that?"

Kankuro shrugged this time, returning his eyes to their closed settings which both awed and annoyed Kiba, "Puppet masters don't crack our fingers or hands. The flow of charka can be interrupted if the joints swell too much or something. Plus with all we do with our hands they never get stiff."

Kiba blinked his black eyes in Kankuro's direction, once again closing the several feet between them to stand more at the other's side. The Jounin opened an eye to glance at the other out of the corner of it with an indifferent expression despite wondering what the hell Kiba was doing. It was too late that he noticed Kiba's nose had been twitching; he hadn't even realized the slight increase in the other's charka. By the time he opened his mouth Kiba's was already moving, "You're lying…well, half lying. I had to get closer to tell."

"You don't know that," Kankuro responded before he thought about it. Mentally he slapped a hand over his face as Kiba gave the response he didn't even need to hear.

"I can smell-"

"Yeah, I know," Kankuro snapped through gritted teeth as he looked off to the side without turning his face.

"Then why'd you-"

"Why are you interrogating me and what does it matter if I'm lying? Go back on your side of the damn path," he cut Kiba off again. He didn't see the other blink up at him almost resembling a puppy that had gotten yelled at before frowning and glaring, opening the gap between him and Kankuro once more.

"You're such a pain in the ass," Kiba mumbled after a moment, "I figured out you were lying, why not just give me the truth?"

"You ever think people give you the answers they give you because they don't want you to know the truth?" Kankuro sighed.

"Well why not? What's so bad about it?"

"I'm not five, y'know; I'm not going to fall for that."

Kiba sighed himself before dropping his shoulders in defeat, what made him think Kankuro would possibly fall for that trick? He decided to slip back into silence as he put his hands against the back of his head and watched his sister's pony-tail swing while she walked. Kiba was never really one for silences unless they were the middle-of-a-mission kind of tense silences. He liked those ones okay, but the bland or awkward ones never sat that well with him. If there was time to be silent then there had to have been something to say.

"Are you always so distanced like that?" he asked after a moment, pouting a little as he looked at Kankuro from the corner of his eye. The other groaned mentally but kept up a mostly stern and focused ahead face.

"Do people always humor your questions? Is that why you won't leave me alone?"

"I know everything I want to know about my mom and sister," he replied with a shrug and turning his gaze back forward again, "You're new grounds; I can't help but be curious."

"What're my chances of curiosity killing the dog-boy?" Kankuro grumbled, apparently a tad softer than he thought because Kiba used it as an excuse to pull closer against him again.

"What was that?"

"If he hits you I'm not stepping in," Hana spoke up a tad cheerfully. Both boys whirled their gaze in her direction to see her smiling over her shoulder. It seemed like the Haimaru Sankyodai were snickering amongst themselves at her comment which only made her grin more. Kankuro noted that all the Inuzuka had fangs similar to the ones that Kiba had, but Tsume's were more prominent than both of theirs and Hana's seemed less noticeable than Kiba's.

"Neither am I," Tsume growled the bickering was wearing a tad thin on her nerves. This was probably because she was waiting for Kankuro to do something to make her whirl on him but he wasn't. She had a slight respect for the boy because she knew Kiba poked at things he didn't know about; had since he was a baby. Might as well vocalize now that if Kankuro hit him she was going to let him do it, it almost helped her convince herself.

"Tch," Kiba crossed his arms, "It isn't my fault he flirts like he does."

"I _what_?" Kankuro asked and immediately turned his gaze to Kiba in a mix of disbelief and aggravation. It wasn't the accusation that really bothered him so much as the fact that it was coming at the completely wrong time, "You're drilling me with questions that I'm not answering, how the hell is that flirting?"

"I don't know but we've already established that you're weird," Kiba shrugged, "Maybe that's just how you flirt. I wouldn't know after all – you keep lying to me."

"I lied once and that's because my issue with bone cracking was none of your business! If you think this is flirting then you obviously have no social life at all," Kankuro snapped. Not like he was really one to talk about social lives but Kiba didn't know about the lack of one he had himself so he felt safe with the comment.

"Ha! So you _admit _you have an issue," Kiba smirked as though he was a detective that had just figured out some very important case. He jumped in front of Kankuro and walked backwards, once more putting his hands behind his head. Kankuro glared intensely at him and wondered if he could kill him without being caught. Something about the excuse 'I don't know he was walking right next to me just a second ago' didn't seem as though it would work with either Tsume or Hana. Not to mention they could both smell lies; what a pain in the ass.

"If it wasn't an issue then why would I _lie_ about it?"

Kiba seemed to think about this for a moment, fixing Kankuro with a thoughtful look, "Well it could have just been something embarrassing and that wouldn't really be an issue."

Obliviously to them, Hana and her squad were snickering and chuckling at the utmost interest Kiba seemed to have found in Kankuro. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because he liked Kankuro or simply because he was bent on annoying someone.

"Some people think embarrassing things are issues," Kankuro countered.

"I dunno, you don't seem like the embarrassing equals issue kind of guy to me."

"I don't know, I'm pretty prideful," Kankuro practically spat sardonically. Kiba once again took that thoughtful look before nodding in agreement.

"Alright, well then what happened that was so embarrassing?"

"What makes you think it was embarrassing?"

"But you just-"

"I said that some people think embarrassing things could be labeled as 'issues', not that whatever happened with me was embarrassing."

"So it wasn't embarrassing?"

"I never said that either."

Kiba's look at the end of the conversation resembled mostly complete confusion and Kankuro had to walk around him as his paced slowed. The Inuzuka didn't continue to slow to a stop and instead fell back in stride beside Akamaru and Kankuro on his 'side' of the path. He wasn't stupid; not really, there were just people out there that were smarter than him. He was better with direction than Shino and Hinata and he was pretty good with recognizing the wrong signs in nature when they tried to retrace their pathways or set up a perimeter for some missions. But he did have to admit defeat on this one; Kankuro had looped him in a complete circle and now he was back at square one.

Soon after their interrogation session, Tsume called for them to pick up a run again and everyone leapt into stride. They continued moving until reaching a very small rest area and getting something to eat between lunch and dinner. Tsume elaborated on how they would be sleeping outside tonight and then at a small boat-house near the waters so they could wake up early and travel by boat for half of the next day. This promptly made Kankuro feel sick at the very thought of treading on water (Suna missions very rarely took people to the Mist and while the village itself did have water on its boarders Kankuro much preferred land) but he swallowed it down and did not feel hungry for a while.

After the meal they picked up once again to continue moving and didn't stop until dusk when they started nearing a more hilly side of the country. The others waited while Hana and the Haimaru Sankyodai found a decent rock outcropped enough to hide them for the night and were soon moving to bed down. Kiba had brought along a tent for him and Kankuro to share, the very proposal made Kankuro think about risking the sleep outside. He was talked out of it but decided to prolong sleep a little longer than Hana and Tsume who chose to get as much rest as possible soon after eating and when the sunk sank below the horizon.

Kankuro sat with his back to a large stone and one leg bent up, his arm resting on it and hand hanging limply in front of him. He tilted his head back against the rock to look at the stars above his head which seemed much more visible here than in Suna. Kiba, realizing that Kankuro had no intention of coming to the tent soon, decided to join him for whatever reason – leaving Akamaru curled up on top of his sleeping bag.

"Are the stars this bright in Suna?" he asked as he crossed the stone. Kankuro lifted his head, more from the paranoia of having people sneak up on him all his life than actual fear. He just returned it back to the rock after he realized it was Kiba.

"Sometimes," he said, "There's a lot of sand so it's hard to see them until after midnight when the winds settle."

"Guess it's called the Land of Wind for something," Kiba smiled and leaned back against the rock, looking up himself. Now that the sun had set and the night was cooling off the land, Kiba found a lot of his activity settling as well. The urge to question Kankuro ruthlessly was replaced by the urge to get to know him via talking about himself, "When I used to make this trip with my dad he would always watch stars with me on these hills. Ma hated it when I was tired the next day but he carried me while I got some sleep so she didn't mind too much. I think Hana was jealous…"

Kankuro didn't feel the urge to comment on Kiba's little happy moment about his family so he stayed quiet but moved his head down once again and inclined it slightly. The flaps of his hood slipped forward and hid much of his painted face. _What would I have to say anyway? 'Yeah, my dad used to call me to his study and beat me because my sister was a girl and my brother would have unintentionally killed him if he tried'? How about 'My dad broke my hand and when I was forced to use it in training it exploded…I'm pretty sure my sister's still traumatized'? _Yeah, some how silence was feeling to be the best of his answers at the moment.

Kiba continued, "These people that we're going to visit are his friends. I only saw them a few times when my dad was alive but they seemed a lot nicer then. It was after he died that the kids started acting like jerks."

"Seems kind of stupid," Kankuro said, but more out of some foreign feeling of obligation as Kiba kept talking. He wasn't really sure he had actually said anything until he caught Kiba looking at him out of the corner of his eye. The Inuzuka looked away and nodded a few times.

"I think they were jealous even though they have a dad. They still have him too," the last was said with an edge of sadness that Kankuro hadn't really heard Kiba use before. It wasn't like he was completely wallowing in self-pity, but it was clear he missed his Dad. Kankuro almost wished he had a dad _to _miss.

But he didn't, he had a Kazekage that's absence just made the Complex feel a little less threatening, "He's an okay guy? Their Dad?"

Kiba shrugged a little, looking off over the hills, "Yeah, I guess. He was always sort of weird to me; it was their Mom that my dad and ma were really friends with."

The Jounin made an acknowledging sound and nodded before using the rock to push himself to his feet. He didn't feel tired but something about all the conversation suddenly made him think he would rather have sleep than keep it up. Kiba's dad didn't sound so bad, hell even these kids' dad didn't sound so bad, Kankuro could almost feel a spike of jealousy along the back of his neck. But hey, maybe Kiba's Dad died too soon for Kiba to really get to know him; maybe it was best for Kiba that way. He stretched and yawned, "As enlightening as this has been, I'm going to bed. Night."

"Night," Kiba called after him, giving a split moment of hesitation that Kankuro didn't seem to notice as he ducked inside the tent.

Kiba was now the one left alone waiting outside while Kankuro tried to fall asleep, and he found himself staring at the stars. In terms of knowing Kankuro, the day hadn't really gotten him anywhere – but at least he had opened up a little to the point of conversation that didn't involve snapping at him. Maybe he would be able to find out more about him this way; while in the tent just a few feet to his left Kankuro was thinking maybe there was a lot he didn't _want _Kiba to know.


	6. Stage 6

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Swearing and more boy on boy flirting.  
**Chapter OST:** Ramalama (Bang Bang) + Leaving the City + Night of the Dancing Flame - Roisin Murphy; Cage + Drain Away - Dir en Grey; FILTH in the Beauty - Gazette  
**Author's Note:** I'm coming to realize that this fanfiction revolves a lot around the word 'something'. Like how Kankuro notices 'something' about Kiba and Kiba knows Kankuro wants to do or say 'something' that he isn't. How they both want 'something' from each other that, for whatever reason, they aren't getting. Just, yeah, did anyone else notice that.

A quick question; **did you see the events of this chapter happening like...a mile away?** As much as I hate to be cliche with my writing it worked out kind of nicely and I like the idea that Kankuro can't swim. I mean...the guy is clearly a land-based person.

Anyway, this chapter sort of flowed easily which I both like and makes me really nervous. If it flows that means there might be mistakes. I edited this over at least twice and ended up changing things but, as usual, point out things you see wrong with it.

Another thing you may have noticed is how I frequently jump times in my fanfictions (especially this one). So don't go ahead and assume that Kankuro will change his mind like a split second before they leave. For all you know the next chapter will be some enormous jump like a bajilion years into their future...okay, well, not quite that far.

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The next day was very much a repeat of the previous one, however Kiba questioned Kankuro less and when he did speak up he seemed to be quite straight-forward rather than attempting to outwit the Jounin. Apparently the previous day's displays had shown him _that_ tactic wouldn't quite work as well as he may have hoped. Either way, Kankuro continued to brush off the questions and did his best to brush off Kiba as well. The temptation of someone enjoying pain was becoming increasingly less alluring and he was becoming more and more tempted to break off his agreement with Kiba. No one would have missed him on this trip, not really – except for Kiba perhaps.

After scaling a rather large hill they all paused to look over the ground below. It was as though the hills had been patted down to form smooth running land that stretched all the way towards a shore in the far distance. Kankuro could see a wide stretch of blue beyond that length of land and Kiba claimed he could already smell the water (though he was a tad more excited about that than Kankuro). For the Inuzuka and their canines, this seemed to be motivation to move even faster where as Kankuro would have been fine with simply turning around.

This hidden motivation carried them to the small port village resting along side the vast amount of water sooner than they expected. It was still only about an hour before dusk (when their planned arrival was) but that made things easier on all of them. They were not quite so exhausted when they arrived and could enjoy the town for a little while longer; as tomorrow they would be mostly sitting in a boat as they traveled. This was also good because they were able to find a room before night sank in and had some time to enjoy a break before the next day.

Like the previous night, Tsume and Hana were rooming together while Kiba and Kankuro slept in the same room. Kankuro shrugged his bag off and leaned it against his bed as he sat down while Kiba continued to chat away behind him. He hadn't really been listening too much until after Kiba started asking about food and if he wanted to go out. Kankuro agreed and the two set out to find some place that had something they would both enjoy.

"The cool thing about being near the sea is that we usually get to go swimming before our boat arrives tomorrow," Kiba said. He was looking away from Kankuro as he tried to catch a sign of a place to suggest which meant he did not see Kankuro tense at that comment. It wasn't as though Kiba said he would be forced to swim but the idea of it was not particularly appealing either, "They mostly have sea-food here. How about tempura udon?"

"Fine," Kankuro said, which made Kiba jumped on it because during his previous suggestions Kankuro either hadn't responded or responded with some sort of displeased sound at the suggestion. He absent mindedly reached out to grab Kankuro's forearm to steer him in the correct direction (as the other wasn't facing it). Clearly, it was something he so often did with Shino and Hinata when he saw some place he wanted to go that he hadn't even thought about it before doing it.

Kankuro didn't jerk his arm away but he did feel the urge to spike in his muscles. For him, touches normally were meant in the offensive manner. His family was never really the type that hugged or laced arms or anything of that sort. So to have Kiba instantly reach out and grab his arm was actually something of a new concept to him. It was true that he had seen other people do it before but he himself had never really done anything resembling this. He let himself be lead, nevertheless, and Kiba let go once they had both taken seats and put in two orders.

"Sea-food isn't really common in Suna, is it?" Kiba asked as they waited.

Kankuro shrugged, "The Land of Wind borders on the west sea but no one in Suna really cares much for sea-food."

Kiba nodded thoughtfully as he looked down at his hands resting on the wooden bar, he drummed his nails for a moment as he tried to think of another question.

"Don't you ever prefer to talk about yourself or something?" Kankuro sighed as he rested his cheek against his fist. Kiba blinked and looked over at him with a bit of surprise glinting in his black eyes at the question. Or maybe it was more at the fact Kankuro had actually spoken up without being prodded to do it.

"Uh," he really hadn't ever thought about it that much even though, more often than not, his first instinct was to talk about himself. After all, if he was an expert on anything it would have been himself and he couldn't do any wrong there, "Yeah, I guess I do…it just didn't come to mind."

"Why not?" Kankuro asked, dragging his dull eyes forward to watch the cook move behind the bar as he prepared the food.

"I didn't think you'd care," Kiba said. He must have caught the raised brow look from Kankuro out of the corner of his eye because he quickly caught himself, "Not that it matters if you care or not, it's just better manners to ask a person about themselves."

_Nice save_, Kankuro thought sarcastically but decided that perhaps vocalizing it would have just caused a rather stupid fight and at the moment he wasn't up for one. Maybe when there were less people to bear witness, "Yeah well I'm not about to lay myself open for someone I don't know anything about."

"And I am?" Kiba asked. He looked up to catch Kankuro looking at him with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. Kiba caught on soon enough that he was always gloating about himself and showing off when he was a kid; he was laying his pride out there all the time to be stepped on. But when he was younger it didn't matter so much because he hadn't gotten his senses beaten back into him yet. Since then, since the last time Kankuro had seen him, that had changed.

"Listen kid," Kankuro started, sitting up slightly more on the stool. Kiba mumbled 'I'm not a kid' but he didn't feel any need to go back and address it, "I'm not one of those people that likes to talk about themselves or lay it all out there. When you've got the kind of life I did, that route isn't always the safest."

"You know you keep talking and acting like your life was this big bust but you're trying to be so tough about it."

Kankuro frowned.

"Do you ever think about…I dunno, just talking?"

"No." The answer was so point blank Kiba was sure it felt like a kunai had been embedded into his forehead with it. Kankuro's answers kept baffling him, it was as though he wanted to do or say something that he just wasn't. Kiba wasn't necessarily suggesting it be to him but, damn, _something_ would have been better than nothing at all. Then again, maybe there was something Kankuro wanted to do that Kiba didn't want him to do. His mind momentarily flashed back to the scene in Kankuro's inn room a few weeks prior and he felt the hair along the back of his neck raise.

Before the conversation could continue their food arrived and they ate in silence which carried over to the rest of the walk back to the hotel. Apparently both of them had decided that there was nothing further to say about the matter; though unbeknownst to each other they were also thinking the opposite as well.

------------------

Their boat wasn't due to arrive until about noon when the sea would be best settled and they would have hours of daylight to travel by. Tsume said they would arrive in the village that night, most likely late, but she had sent a scroll ahead the previous night to warn the people they were staying with. Kiba and Akamaru seemed absolutely thrilled with this outcome as they raced back to their hotel room to change. Kankuro's hand was hovering over the door handle when Kiba yanked it open and ran into him. Kankuro managed to remain on his feet and instinctively moved an arm out to catch Kiba around the waist as the other started to stumble backwards.

Kiba felt a slight warmth head to his face as the touch immediately reminded him of what happened in Kankuro's inn room yet again. He quickly brushed off the hold and regained his footing, "So are you coming?"

"Not yet," Kankuro replied, raising a brow in a way that gave his green orbs a suggestive glint. Kiba lashed out and punched him (more playfully than Kankuro had punched him) in the shoulder.

"Pervert, I meant swimming," he snorted. It was then that Kankuro took in the sight and realized Kiba was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top; quite different from his normal attire. The Jounin fought the urge to swallow nervously and must have succeeded rather well as he shook his head because Kiba didn't comment on it, "Aw, why not? You're not afraid of a little water are you?"

"No," Kankuro said, taking his turn to snort. He moved to walk around Kiba but as he snuck by the other turned to poke two fingers against his chest. Amidst his turn, Kankuro found his back against the wooden doorframe and Kiba seemed to be wasting no time in closing the distance between them. He could feel the warmth of the other's body hovering over his own through his clothing. _What's with this kid? He snaps at me for getting to close and here he is throwing himself at me._

"Then prove it," he replied, though his voice was lower -- as though he had been thinking something completely dirty before saying it. Kankuro watched those lips turn into a soft smirk that revealed a single, sharp Inuzuka fang. Kankuro leaned down as though he was going to take those lips with his own, making Kiba pull back just slightly. The other must have been unwilling to lose the majority of closeness he had achieved to the puppet master because he only pulled as far back as his neck would allow.

He could feel the warmth of Kankuro's breath along his lips and struggled with himself to keep his eyes up on the other's; they slipped a few times. He knew this because Kankuro was partially smirking to himself as he replied in an equally low voice, "Forget it."

Kiba's brow furrowed into a deep frown as he pulled back and moved to continue out the door, the frown faded only a moment later. He shrugged, raising his hands up, palms facing the ceiling to increase emphasis, "Whatever. Your loss. You'll at least hang down near the water won't you? You aren't _that _afraid, right?"

"I'm not afraid," Kankuro groaned like a parent that has told a kid something one too many times.

"Whatever you say."

"Will you leave me alone if I go?" Kankuro asked with his voice equally as annoyed as it had been previously.

"For a little while at least."

"Deal."

It only took about two minutes and thirty seconds for Kiba to run to the beach where as Kankuro walked and took five. By the time he arrived, Kiba and Akamaru were already splashing and laughing in the water. He looked around and decided to take a seat on a flat rock top that sat partially in the water but above it enough the waves splashed below his feet. It wasn't as though he was afraid of the water; he just didn't care for it and was prone to sea-sickness. He would walk in it and as long as the waves weren't vicious and he could feel the ground under his feet he was fine. As far as he knew, Gaara and Temari were the same – though Temari could glide around on her fan and may have been more used to the movements and Gaara could always use his sand when he needed to.

He dug his elbow into his thigh and rested his chin in his hand as he watched Kiba swim as far out as he could and Akamaru paddle after him. The waves didn't seem so bad right now but tomorrow he knew they would be hell on his stomach. Thankfully he remembered to bring some remedies from Suna for sea-illness so he wouldn't need to sneak off and buy something with the threat of Kiba knowing about it. He hadn't been lying when he said he was prideful.

While thinking about his own problems, Kankuro failed to notice that Kiba disappeared. Akamaru was shaking himself off on the beach the way dogs do but Kiba was no where in sight. His green eyes flicked around among the waves and watched for the Inuzuka to surface but he didn't; he stood up to get a better measure of height. He looked down to see if the other was near the rock surface he had been standing on. Had Kiba been planning to snatch his leg when Kankuro wasn't paying attention? He couldn't see the image of him in the water which was relatively clear, where had he gone?

Then he heard it; the sound of feet from behind him.

Kiba had charged at a run at the back of Kankuro, planning to knock him off while he was sitting but deciding that the other standing was much easier. Kankuro whirled around just in time to see a glimpse of soaked brown hair before Kiba's weight lunging into his front knocked him off the rock face. Kiba knew the rock went out enough into the water that Kankuro wouldn't hurt his head and he managed to catch himself just seconds before falling off the rock himself. The joking Inuzuka waved as Kankuro splashed into the blue-green water below.

Water rushed up the Jounin's nose and the shock of being pushed had left him taking his breath too late – he inhaled water as well as oxygen. Splashing into the water knocked his hood off and he clenched his eyes closed tightly to keep the water from invading them too. Almost instantly the panic reflex set in and he felt himself completely unable to move. He could already feel the water he took in making his stomach hurt and the deeper he sank with the force of splashing, the more pressure he felt on his body. Kankuro was not afraid of the water; _but he could not swim_.

For a moment, Kiba thought Kankuro may have been trying to fake him out by holding himself underwater. However, as the white foam and bubbles formed from the splash cleared he saw that the black mass submerged underwater wasn't moving. Kankuro wasn't swimming or kicking his legs, he hadn't reached out for his hat which was floating atop the water, and he hadn't surfaced. It didn't even appear that the other was floating back to the surface as one would usually do. He was staying underwater and Kiba was sure Kankuro was not part fish.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called. The dog lifted his head just in time to see Kiba dive into the water and immediately swam back in himself to see what was wrong.

The water was just deep enough that Kiba could not quite stand unless he stretched his toes and submerged most of his head. He pumped his arms and legs hard to catch up to where Kankuro was; his clothes were enough to weigh him down to the point he hadn't just floated back to the surface near immediately. Kiba wrapped an arm around Kankuro's waist and pushed off of the sand floor with both feet to propel himself and Kankuro upwards towards seeing the silhouette of Akamaru against the sun. The dog had grabbed Kankuro's hat and Kiba leaned part of Kankuro's weight over the dog as they swam back to shore which mercifully wasn't that far away.

Kankuro's face had relaxed partially and as Kiba pulled him enough onto the beach to lie him down, he noticed the Jounin wasn't breathing either. His face was one of pure panic as he tried to jostle the elder awake, "Kankuro? Kankuro!" Kankuro didn't respond.

Kiba instinctively moved to tilt the other's head back, telling Akamaru to go find some help. As his companion retreated, Kiba checked pulse and breathing once again. The former was weak while the latter was non-existent. The Inuzuka held Kankuro's nose closed and covered the puppet master's mouth with his own, exhaling deeply. Kankuro's chest rose with the breath and Kiba watched for him to continue on his own, when that didn't happen he tried once again.

The fifth time he exhaled into Kankuro's mouth, the other started to cough and Kiba helped him onto his side. Clear sea-water left his mouth in a small rush before the rest was coughed out strong enough to make Kankuro's throat and chest hurt. His face paint had encountered enough moisture that it was starting to flake away and even smear around his lips where Kiba had covered his mouth. Once all the water was expelled from the places it shouldn't have been, Kankuro's breathing was harsh and Kiba helped him sit upright.

"Are you alright?" Kiba asked despite the stupidity of the question.

Kankuro struggled to catch his breath for a few moments before turning on Kiba quite rapidly, fixing him with a dangerous look, "Are you _completely _stupid? Where do you get off shoving someone into the water like that? You could have killed me!"

Kiba winced like a dog being shouted at before defensively narrowing his eyes back at the Jounin, "You didn't tell me you couldn't swim!"

"I shouldn't have had to!" Despite his dizziness, Kankuro managed to get to his feet and stand through the swirl of lightheadedness. Kiba stood up as well and turned to see Tsume and Hana running in their direction. Soon Kankuro's back entered his vision as he stormed away, wringing out his hat that he'd picked up from the sand.

"Where are you going?" Kiba shouted after him, but couldn't quite bring himself to chase Kankuro. He knew full well that the other was right, he shouldn't have pushed him and he should apologize. For whatever reason though; he didn't.

"Back to Suna!" Kankuro shouted his tone sharp and unforgiving. Embarrassment and nausea burned at him sharply as he kept his back to Kiba. The questioning he could deal with and the kid's conceited personality he could handle, even talking to the dog was okay, but nearly drowning? No 'possibility' of exploring a masochist was worth that, he was going home.

"You can't just back out on me, Kankuro!" Kiba shouted after him. A hint of panic and regret was burning its way up his throat as watched the other storm past Tsume and Hana.

What would he do if Kankuro didn't show up with him tomorrow? It wasn't like the others already knew about him but he had it in his mind the entire time that this would be so much easier to deal with if there was someone there to pretend for him. He needed Kankuro for this, his one chance at having a peaceful visit was walking – not even walking, _storming _– away from him. Kankuro wouldn't really back out, would he? Maybe he just needed time to cool off.

"Fucking watch me!"

Kiba felt his stomach sink.


	7. Stage 7

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s): **Not many, just the usual. Swearing and fun stuff like that.  
**Chapter OST: **The Screen Behind the Mirror - Enigma  
**Author's Note: **Well this chapter was suppose to be updated at the same time as the next chapter but I'm sort of being lazy on the editing front and don't want to edit the next chapter yet. -is lame- But I still want to update something! This chapter may seem sort of filler-ish but I had to do this to keep it from running on because, together, this single chapter would have been like eight pages. That seemed a little agonizing to read to me.

So yeah, I apologize for the slightly filler-esk seem of this chapter but it's necessary - promise!

----------

Kankuro shifted his pack on his shoulder as he continued retreating away from the village as well as that large body of water. The last place he wanted to be now, was anywhere near water. He had even hesitated in taking a shower for about fifteen minutes before deciding it was stupid to fear drowning in a shower. Now he was on his way back to Suna and his mind could not have been any clearer.

Kiba had chased after him to argue with him about leaving but frankly, Kankuro just didn't care, it wasn't worth it. Especially because the Village Hidden in Mist was on an island and, also according to Kiba, they were free to go swimming at any time. The Jounin realized it was his own fault for agreeing to go in the first place but Kiba shouldn't have shoved him anyway. He didn't care much about how juvenile it seemed to be blaming the other – the point was it was _his _fault. So now he was retreating back home and Kiba's boat had left nearly an hour and a half previously.

He also decided (or was trying to decide) that it wasn't that great of a loss to have Kiba completely hate him now. It wasn't so much that Kiba's opinion of him itself mattered, but more along the lines that Kiba had been the first masochist he had met that he'd been aware of. Kankuro was well aware that his abusive tendencies were the reason he never allowed himself close to anyone relationship-wise. Kiba being as masochist would have been perfect for him – but Kiba as a person in an honest-to-god relationship wouldn't have been so perfect. At least no from where he was standing.

_He's a brat and obnoxious. It was hard enough standing him on this trip – how can I even begin to fool myself into thinking I would make _trips _and take _time off_ to visit him? _After all it was what most ninja did when their partner of choice didn't live in their village. Like any other shinobi, Kankuro had limited days off to spend on his own time. The only reason he could afford the two weeks he had gotten for this trip was because he didn't often _take _vacations. He had no need for them without anyone to visit or really hang around with – most of his time off was spent working on installing weapons into his puppets. He was completely fine with that.

_Where did this relationship thinking even come from? He's some Konoha kid; apparently not dating has killed my standards. _Kankuro sighed a little as he reached up to rub his eyes and continued walking. Kiba may have left an hour and a half ago but he was just now reaching the edge of the small harbor village. He wasn't sure why he was so late leaving but he knew he had been reconsidering abandoning Kiba at the inn. It was when he _realized _what he was thinking about that he jumped off the bed and started to leave.

However now that he had stopped reconsidering he was thinking about Kiba as a serious partner and wondering when he had agreed to that trade off. He would rather be thinking about reconsidering – even though he knew he wouldn't do it because he wasn't going to risk another session with drowning all for some stupid kid. The chances of Kiba letting this go if they ever met up again also seemed slim, _Oh well, nothing to do now but put it out of my head._

_--------------------------------- _

They had arrived an hour later than Tsume had anticipated but either way late was late and after being taken inside the house the only thing Kiba wanted was sleep. His thoughts and dreams were non-existent in his exhaustion and decided that sleeping in the next morning would be his new master plan. Once he woke up he would think about how to handle his lack of Kankuro and a new way to channel his complete anger at the kids that were bound to swarm him in the morning.

And swarm was exactly what they had done. They didn't even have the decency to wait until Kiba had woken up; instead the second youngest son and one of the twins ran into his room to leap onto his bed. The Inuzuka teen jolted awake only to be smashed in the face with a pillow and unconditionally have his hair yanked on as they tried to wake him up. Akamaru turned out to be quite grumpy in his master's defense as he woke up barking and chased the two out. Kiba cursed as he removed himself from bed and started to get ready.

The morning proved to be rather unentertaining as the two families gathered for breakfast where Kiba was careful to place himself between his mother and sister lest he be kicked at. Akamaru was with the other dogs that were enjoying their own breakfast on the yard. Kiba's eyes flicked over all the people in the order that they sat. To his left was Tsume who was talking to Kiri, a woman of about her own age with long black hair that's wavy curls were highlighted with a deep blue. Her eyes were a dark navy and she had her right eyebrow (or where her eyebrow should have been – they had been shaved off and painted on in the form of a rather impressive design) pierced four times as well as the nostril on her right side.

Just as it was customary for the Inuzuka to get their fang tattoos at a certain age, it was customary for this family to acquire a number of piercings. Kiba also knew that she had several other odd places around her body pierced that he had noticed when they went swimming as Kiri wore a revealing (but not disgustingly so) swimsuit.

Beside Kiri sat her youngest son Ritoru, who was only about six years old yet had managed to grow greatly since Kiba had last seen him, who was quietly eating through his breakfast. Ritoru looked a lot more like his mother than some of the other kids did – a feature which Kiba personally hoped he never grew out of. It seemed like Ritoru and Kiri were the only two he could ever stand on this visits besides a few people in the village that he sometimes didn't even get to see (and maybe Moya, as she never did much to be hated or liked). Ritoru was too young to have any piercings but Kiba was sure if he skipped another two years and showed up again – the boy would have at least one.

Next to Ritoru was Raikou, the second oldest son in the family and was a little less than a year older than Kiba. Raikou had his father's black eyes accompanied with his mother's dark hair which gave him a very threatening look despite his thin stature. His skin was lighter than either of his parents which partially made Kiba if it was genetics or because he just didn't go outside. Raikou had two small lip pairings on his lower lip near the right side when facing him. He also had two strange ones that hooked through his skin near the outer corners of his eyes near his temples. They didn't seem so much piercings to Kiba as they did sharp talons left over from some bird that had embedded its claws into his skin.

To his right sat the 'Devastating Duo' (a name that Kiba's mother had come up with on the trip back to Konoha) of Tsuyu and Moya – two twin sisters. Actually, Tsuyu was really the only devastating one – Moya was actually quite tame. They both had their father's strangely colored black-gray hair but Tsuyu had their mother's eyes while Moya had their father's. Even though they were twins, Tsuyu still considered herself the older for being born three minutes before her sister and thus often bossed her around. Moya didn't seem to mind though, she was too shy to care and had dubbed her sister always right anyway. They both had one piercing; Tsuyu's was an eyebrow piercing on her left brow while Moya's was the same but on her right.

At their side was their father, Arashi, who was Kiri's husband through all of these children and more years than Kiba cared to count. His hair was short and spiked in a way that showed he really didn't take much care of it beyond washing it. His eyes were so black that Kiba never dared look long enough to see if he even had a pupil – they reminded him of Sasuke's eyes. Arashi's eyes were normal compared to his hair, however, which wasn't quite black but wasn't the sort of gray that made a person seem old. It was more as though his hair hadn't decided to completely follow through with the black coloring halfway through growing up and stuck with dark gray. Arashi had an array of bridge piercings descending his nose in an orderly line that reminded Kiba of a pathway leading him to the end of his nose. Sometimes he wondered if anyone ever wanted to hit him there simply because it seemed like that's what those piercings were asking you to do.

There was an empty chair beside Arashi that normally sat the child Kiba could stand the least out of the large bunch. Another good reason for having Kankuro around would have been that their eldest son was seventeen as well as a Mist Jounin. Kiba was two years younger than him as well as a rank below, which often gave the teen a superiority complex when around him.

"Now what was the name of that boy that was supposed to have come with you?" Kiri asked. Kiba winced slightly at the question and turned to look at the two of them. Tsume was glancing at her son from the corner of her eye but soon looked back to Kiri.

"Kankuro had to leave at the last minute," she said. Kiba was thankful that his mom didn't feel the need to explain the entire argument between himself and Kankuro. Actually, it hadn't even really been an argument – he'd almost drowned his pretend 'boyfriend' who had every right to storm off even if Kiba would never have admitted that to his face.

"Ah, I see I see. Well then, next year perhaps?" Kiri looked almost excited or eager to have met someone new. She was a shinobi herself so it wasn't as though she never got to see beyond her own lands borders, but she probably hadn't ever met someone who came from a place as distant as Suna. Her eyes had found Kiba again with that eager expression and all he could do was shrug.

Suddenly Ritoru burst into tears and Arashi was shouting at the twins who had bumped into their brother and sent him against the little six-year-old. Kiri jumped to her feet to pick up her son and pat his back, which seemed to annoy Arashi slightly. "He isn't a baby anymore, Kiri," he mumbled, never having been one for babying his children.

"Oh hush, I'm still his mother," Kiri said, shooting her husband a look.

"And I'm still the boy's father," he snapped back. All the heads at the table turned to look at the dark eyed male who was completely fixated on his wife. Kiri seemed to be on the complete offense but Kiba watched as she backed down anyway, setting her sniffling son back in his chair despite his clear attempts to cling to her. The entire table echoed the tension that had warmed up between the gaze of the two adults.

_He's such a freak, god the kid's only six._ Kiba thought to himself as he turned his eyes back to his empty plate. Without hesitation the brunette stand up and headed for the kitchen with his plate, he decided he would rather have been washing dishes than dealing with the stress in this room. These visits were supposed to be calm and vacation-like but he couldn't remember the last time one of them had been either of those things. Arashi and Kiri always ended up arguing over something and the kids were so obnoxious Kiba could hardly stand them.

As though the annoyance in his head called out to them, the twins came into the room. Tsuyu was boasting about something she had done at the academy while Moya nodded silently in listening. The lighter eyed of the two immediately grinned to her little sister before executing her little special move on Kiba's leg. The Inuzuka boy grimaced as a sharp pain was sent up his leg from his knee being knocked forward into the cabinet and growled over his shoulder. Tsuyu was looking up at him with the most innocent eyes she could achieve – which weren't that innocent at all – while Moya's eyes were a bit wide.

"I took out your brother and I can take out you too," he mumbled.

"Nu-uh," Tsuyu spoke up, wiggling her hips as though it made her twice as superior seeming as she already was, "Nii-san won't let you."

"Then I'll just have to make sure he's out before I do it," Kiba growled as he scrubbed at his plate despite the fact most of what had been on it was washed off.

"Yeah right! I heard mom and Auntie Tsume talking; you're still a chuunin but nii-san is a jounin. He could beat you up easy!" Tsuyu seemed to have no problem boasting in her brother's place. Kiba felt his nose twitch into a snarl and he reached for a towel to dry off his plate.

"And who's still an academy student?" He asked after a moment. Tsuyu opened her mouth to make a comment but when one didn't come to her she closed it. She glared up at the back of Kiba's head and moved to kick him once more but Kiba turned around quickly and barked much like he used to do when he was younger and playing with his parents' dogs. The suddenness of the loud noise made Tsuyu yelp and run back the way she had came, leaving Kiba to smirk in slight triumph after her.

He turned around to finish drying his plate when a soft voice spoke up behind him, "S-Sorry for my s-sister…Kiba."

Moya's soft voice had spoken up from her place on the floor much like Hinata's shy voice did back in Konoha. The brunette turned around to see her standing with her face up at him and her eyes quite apologetic. He wasn't used to any of the kids really apologizing to him for anything, but the last time he had seen Moya she was a shy little ten-year-old who followed her sister around unconditionally. Where as Raikou and Tsuyu often enjoyed picking on him (Kiba would have beat on Tsuyu as much as he did Raikou and their brother except that Tsuyu was younger than him and a girl and his mother would have literally killed him) Moya often would just stand off to the side and pretend not to be there.

"Uh," he glanced around as though worried someone was putting the girl up to it. When he didn't see anyone right away he looked back to her and offered a slightly off-hand smile, "It's cool, if anyone apologizes it should be her, you don't have to do it for her or anything."

Moya's hands were in front of her, arm twisting a little as she put her hands together and laced her fingers together. She nodded a little and looked away as though she was embarrassed about something he had said. Kiba dropped his smile as he looked over her, "Something wrong, Moya?"

She looked up at him with slightly widened eyes and he thought he might have done something wrong but they soon settled as she lowered her head, shaking it furiously. "N-No, i-it's nothing."

Kiba had opened his mouth to ask if she was sure but just then he heard Tsuyu heading back towards the kitchen shouting out a wildly bloated version of what happened. He was sure she was dragging Raikou by his hand towards the kitchen to chase him out of the house. He glanced towards the back door and trailed his gaze back to the swinging door that led to the kitchen.

"G-go on," Moya said, already heading across the kitchen floor to head them off, "I-I'll detour them."

_Wow, I knew I liked that girl_. Kiba nodded as he headed for the door, "Thanks, Moya." The little girl nodded and pushed open the swinging door as Kiba took his leave out the back one.


	8. Stage 8

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Swearing, very little guy x guy fluff, and the use of some words Shea doesn't like to type but has to.  
**Chapter OST:** The Sceen Behind The Mirrior - Enigma (CD), Ruby Blue - Roisin Murphy (CD), Puppet - Thousand Foot Krutch  
**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long for me to upload this one guys! I printed it out for some good-old hand editing that way I could get it up for you like two days ago except I lost my printed copies with all my edits on them. I didn't get them back until yesterday and I was busy yesterday. I know, excuses, excuses, but I finished and I'm hoping this one has less errors than the last.

Anyway, yes, you finally get to meet my favorite member of the Kuromizu Family in this chapter. His fighting style, in all its lame or awesomness, is one I completely came up with on my own. If you're wondering about the ages for piercings and want to call me on any of them for some reason here's the birthdays the kiddies recieve them on:

10, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18 is their last _required_ one. Now they can get any more they want after they turn eighteen or they can stop - it's up to them. That's why Akuten has a weird, single piercing on his back, he hasn't turned eighteen yet.

Well, anyway, hope I got you a little with this chapter! I'm not sure if this story will need to be put on hiatus for a while but I'll try to avoid it. It isn't because of a lack of ideas it's because I'm working on a story for my friend for his birthday - so be patient with me!

One last thing, because I wanted to show this off, here are their name meanings assuming my dumb online-translator doesn't completely fail.

Kiri - Fog (Mother)  
Arashi - Storm (Father)  
Akutenkou - Bad weather (Oldest Son)  
Raikou - Lightning (Second Oldest Son)  
Tsuyu - Dew (Older Twin)  
Moya - Haze (Younger Twin)  
Ritoru - Little (Youngest)

---------------

Just as its name implied, the Village Hidden in Mist usually had at least some layer of mist to it during most hours of its day. Kiba didn't really care for the constant moisture against his skin that much but it was more than tolerable when he needed to get out of that house. The Mist had about the same temperature as Konoha but Kiba wore full length pants here anyway. They had pockets on them in places where people normally didn't require pockets and sagged a little around his sandals. A black mesh shirt with sleeves that went to his elbows was hidden under a second dark, long-sleeved T-shirt, both of which proved able to keep him comfortably warm as he walked.

He was beginning to wish he had brought Akamaru with him but he was sure the dog wouldn't have minded if they took a separate walk later. After all, he didn't think the village had changed that much in the two years he hadn't been here; even if Moya seemed to have. He tucked his hands slightly more into his pockets as he thought about his very brief chat with the little girl. She was the first one to really ever apologize to him without being told that she had to. He appreciated it of course, but was still more than a little caught off guard by it.

The village was in the usual quiet hum that Konoha was in around this time of day which meant Kiba could walk through it without feeling too much like he needed to listen for anything. In the back of his mind he did remember that Tsuyu had mentioned her older brother, who Kiba hadn't seen since arriving and wasn't about to go look for. If the rest of the kids (excluding Ritoru) were a squad with the mission to agitate Kiba then Akutenkou was the leader. He was never really the one that insulted Kiba; he was just the one that turned the other kids onto it. Kiba had never really figured out a good reason for that because according to his mom when they were babies they got along just great and Kiba couldn't remember stealing his toy or anything.

Either way, she had said that Akuten was a jounin now which meant he had gone up two ranks in the years Kiba had been gone because they had been genin together. He was even more like Kankuro then Kiba had first thought. He stopped and frowned at the ground at the sudden thought of Kankuro, as though the guy was just running a little late or something. So what if he was a lot like Akuten? He wasn't going to be here to do anything about it. _Where does he get off ditching me like that anyway? He's just _like _Akuten, damn, even when it comes to the stuff I hate about the guy! And I made it sound like he was my type, yeah right. _The Inuzuka shook his head as he kept walking and made a few more steps before hearing a rather loud echo of laughs from ahead of him. He lifted his head as he continued walking but suddenly paused with his foot in mid-air as tenseness ran up his spine and Akuten entered his vision.

Unlike the rest of his family, Akutenkou didn't have piercings on his face and in fact his choice of piercings could be considered even more dangerous than normal. Kiba wasn't sure if he did that to make himself seem tougher or Akutenkou was on the verge of potentially going insane. He only had five piercings but his intent was clear to get his final one next year. The dark haired jounin had a set of five corset piercings that were not set in the usual chosen place along the back. Instead, he had bumped them up so they ran dangerously down the narrow stretch of his neck.

His latest piercing sat without a partner on the left between his shoulder blades and was not laced with the usual black ribbon that the others were held with. Said ribbon was laced through the other four rings that were embedded deeply into his skin so they would not easily be ripped free. It was much longer than was needed for what he had but he kept it tied into a large bow so it didn't drag and wasn't easy to catch. Tsume told him that Akutenkou had gotten his piercings ripped out unintentionally on missions but had them replaced near immediately despite the dangers and pain.

The seventeen-year-old also wore a tight, black, long sleeved shirt that had the back nearly entirely cut out. It reminded Kiba of a few of the dresses he had seen when his sister went shopping for one of her dates, the bottom hem of the shirt disappeared into his black pants. The piercings were free from the risk of being caught on the shirt but also left them completely exposed in case someone else had decided to catch them. He had grown since Kiba had last seen him as well and his black hair was a lot shorter than he used to keep it. There wasn't a lot else Kiba could tell from looking at his back but he decided the only time he _wanted _to see the front of the other was when the adults were around.

Carefully he turned around and began to make his way back towards the nearest ally way that had been a few yards back. He kept his pace even and slow because the surest way to get yourself caught was to act as though you already had been. The urge to run was tight throughout his entire body though he wasn't sure why, not entirely. Akutenkou wouldn't have killed him but this was his territory, his land, the people here would side with him over Kiba any day. Tsume had also warned him that he'd messed up once and didn't need anything else to make her think about putting him in some severe pain. It was like having both hands tied while the enemy was a rank above you and perfectly willing to kick your ass.

His eyes had been down focused but as he heard his name his heart leapt to his throat and he looked up only to see Tsuyu and Raikou heading in his direction. Raikou didn't seem to be angry at Kiba, but more at the fact he had been told to humor his sister and had been dragged away from whatever he was doing. However Kiba's attention soon turned quickly behind him just as Akutenkou's eyes landed on him – he had heard it too. Not being completely trapped left Kiba free from the usual giving up hope situation but the fight or flight state of mind kicked in leading him to run for it. He grabbed the corner of the building he had been walking along to make a sharp turn and jog down the ally way.

In the back of his mind he was wondering if maybe they had changed a little for the better, maybe they didn't want to beat him up or anything. He could have just been overreacting after all, it had been two years, and maybe they'd all grown up for the better. But the real question was if he wanted to risk that or not, if he was wrong then he had a pretty high chance of limping home. Above else he wanted to know what compelled them to do this in the first place – what had he ever done to them?

Without warning he slipped in a puddle that hadn't been there before and the dirt and rocks scraped into his hands as he hit the ground. His wrist gave a sharp jolt of pain but didn't feel like it was broken, possibly sprained at the worst. As the foot steps that had been chasing him came to a walk he noticed there was only one pace and found he was faced with the person he wanted to see the least at that moment.

Akutenkou looked down at him with his arms crossed over his chest and his dark eyes gleaming in the gray light of the day. Days here had always appeared rather dull to Kiba, without color there really wasn't much to jump out at you, but Akuten's gaze always seemed to have a certain liveliness to it that Kiba could never place. A few times he would have sworn it was jealousy or some form of extreme anger but needless to say asking wasn't the first thing on his mind. He pushed himself to his feet on his own; the fall was hardly bad enough to keep him down for long.

"Long time no see," the brunette mumbled as he returned his hands to his pockets and looked up at the other. Akutenkou wasn't really tall but he did have a few inches on Kiba that he didn't let go unnoticed when fixing him with such intense looks.

"We've missed you around here," the older boy replied almost as though it were sincere. If Kiba didn't know the real reason he had actually been missed then he might have been slightly fooled by that. However the visit from two years ago was still fairly clear in his mind and he decided that the main reason he was 'missed' wasn't one he really wanted to explore.

"I'll bet," he replied, offering his usual grin.

"Tsuyu said you were making fun of her," he reported, his tone blank and straight forward. Kiba felt his grin slip a little at the edges but fought to not let it go completely as he shrugged slightly.

"Not really, she just-"

"You're talking like I want to hear it," Akutenkou replied back in the same tone except for his last word which was twisted slightly and Kiba felt anger immediately settling in his stomach as he was fixed with the disapproving look, "fag."

"Really mature jumping right to name calling, Akuten," Kiba snarled and his hands tightened to fists in his pants pockets.

"Going to do something about it?"

"Why are you trying to start a fight with me?" Kiba asked and his narrow eyes scanned over the other's form, "Someone bigger than you pick on you all the time?"

Something flashed in Akutenkou's eyes that Kiba didn't quite get the chance to see before the other moved. He didn't head for Kiba; actually his hands went behind him to untie that ribbon that was laced through his piercings. The black length of it was so long it curled slightly as it hit the ground, Kiba's eyes flicked up from the ribbons back to the jounin's face, "So you've got a few new holes in you I haven't seen yet, big deal."

"You've got no idea," Akuten replied as he formed a short series of hand signs. Kiba, truthfully, was quite surprised he would have been using something powerful enough to require hand signs. Since when had Akuten gotten so serious about fighting him?

He wasn't given time to question as the black ribbon lifted off the ground and Kiba noticed, out of the corner of his eye, how light reflected off the cloth. Normally that didn't happen and he was about to have his question of how it did answered. Keeping his palms open, Akuten swung his hand in a large circle and the ribbon twirled around him heading straight for the Inuzuka. Once again Kiba saw the glint of light and moved at the last second but a sharp sting still nicked his arm.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted as he looked to his arm; the cloth had cut. Ribbon was cloth and didn't glint in light so obviously something had changed, but Kiba didn't know what it was.

Once again he wasn't given time to think about it as Akutenkou kept moving and lashed out with both ribbons, alternating with a dangerous sense of speed. Under such an assault Kiba would have run but he wasn't given enough time, not really, and he didn't have his weapons to defend with. While his arms defended his face he side stepped and evaded, but despite this the damn ribbons were still managing to shred his sleeves and kept getting deeper. _Since when did he start fighting with ribbons! _Kiba winced as one embedded itself into his forearm dangerously, like it had been a blade instead of a ribbon.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" the jounin asked. There was amusement in his voice but not on his face which made it seem more like a façade than anything that should have been taken seriously. Then again, why would Akutenkou have been _faking _amusement for Kiba's sake? The Inuzuka moved and felt his back hit the wall and his arms stinging as though he had been cut up with a thousand tiny razors. They hadn't gone deep enough to kill him but it was clear they could shred him to pieces if they wanted – if Akutenkou wanted.

"You managed to use your chakra to harden them like blades but what I don't get is how," he ducked under the next sleek ribbon end headed in his direction and rolled out of the way. While Akutenkou pulled it back, Kiba dove in from the side with his claws sharpened. The other had to rotate and swing to get enough momentum behind the blades to make them effective; with them hardened the way they were he couldn't turn in time.

However, Akuten had become a jounin for a good reason and as Kiba came towards him his second ribbon shot out to snake around the other's wrist and lift him completely off his feet. Kiba's black eyes widened as he was effortlessly hurled backwards and his back skidded against the ground of the ally. _But he solidified them, there's no way he could have done that if they were that stiff! Unless…_he groaned and pushed himself back upwards with bloody arms as the other continued towards him.

"You can control them both ways, they don't have to be hardened, am I right?" he asked as he got back to his feet carefully favoring his injured wrist. The damage done really wasn't that bad, aside from being thrown, but the evading was a bit annoying.

"Not bad for a pathetic Konoha fag," Akutenkou replied with a light shrug. Without his arms to guide them the ribbon's ends rested down but hovering an inch or so above the ground. Kiba smirked slightly as he rolled the wrist he had sprained when he fell the first time.

Akutenkou watched with apathetic eyes before frowning deeply and lunged the sharpened ribbon forward. They both embedded deeply into the boy, easily cutting through bone, skin, and muscle, one had gone for his heart while the other went for his head. The only sound Kiba made was a 'poof' before turning into a swirl of smoke…a doppelganger. The jounin turned around to see the real Inuzuka boy had somehow managed to completely disappear – he hadn't even heard foot steps. His face relaxed once again except for his furrowed brow before he reached behind him to tie the ribbon loosely once again and head back towards home.

Kiba didn't move for a few moments until he was sure he had heard Akutenkou leave the ally way and head back towards the house. Once he was sure the other was gone he immediately started to kick and struggle against the hand over his mouth and arm around his waist. The person holding him didn't put up much of a fight to keep a hold on him after he was also sure that the jounin had left. Kiba carefully squeezed his way out of the exceptionally small side-ally and back into the one where the fight had just taken place.

He vigorously wiped his hand over his mouth before lifting his eyes to glare in the darkened ally where a shape was only visible if you had been looking for it, "What the hell do you think you're doing? I could have handled that by myself!"

Quickly he started to step backwards as the body moved forward and soon found his back pressed to the wall of a building. A hand shot out to grab his wrist and he immediately winced as the sharp ache jumped from the strained bone. He wanted to jerk away but that would only cause further injury, so instead he settled for glaring at two dark eyes above his own.

"Yeah, you were doing a _great _job. _That_ proves it," Kankuro argued sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he let Kiba's wrist go again. The brunette gingerly took his own damaged wrist in his hand as he glared at the back of Kankuro's strange black hat.

"What're you doing here anyway? I thought you were going back to Suna," he asked after a moment. He tried to rotate his wrist to see the extent of the damage, it wasn't that bad just swollen and tender, should have been okay by the next day.

"Yeah, well, I lied," Kankuro replied, crossing his arms over his stomach before turning back around in a way that signaled that he really didn't think he owed Kiba any form of explanation, "I can go back to ditching you if you want to stick around by yourself and get your ass kicked."

"I told you I could handle it myself, dammit!" Kiba cursed. However, even as he continued to look into Kankuro's face he knew that was a lie. Akutenkou hadn't been that strong during his last visit, nor did he seem to be willing to show just how dangerous he was. Sure he had been a bully but it was like how Kankuro had been a bully. Kiba wasn't sure when that bullying had changed to something resembling the intent to kill. He sighed, "Alright, maybe I needed your help a little."

"No joke," Kankuro snorted. Kiba's head was down as he looked over the injuries to his arms and wrist. Kankuro caught his eyes lingering over the wounds visible through the torn bits of cloth; some of the blood had already started soaking through. Kiba ran his hands over the bleeding skin after pushing up his shirt and despite the wincing it really didn't feel that bad. It sent a tingling kind of warmth up his arm, sure it stung when it happened but now it just felt sort of cool, "Do you want some help?"

Kiba lifted his head quickly, as though he had forgotten Kankuro was even there, before looking back down at his arm. He didn't answer but Kankuro rolled his eyes and moved forward anyway, shrugging off his pack and opening one of the flaps. He pulled out some healing ointment and gauze and grabbed Kiba's hand to pull his arm forward. The teenager winced slightly but didn't protest as Kankuro wiped away some of the blood and smeared the cooling ointment over his skin.

He was done shortly and Kiba pulled down the sleeve of his shirt with his newly wrapped arms and wrist. Kankuro actually seemed to be pretty good with wrapping injuries, having done it firmly enough to help but not so much that it hurt. The jounin stood back up was pulling the straps of his bag over his shoulders when Kiba spoke, "I want you to stay."

Painted brows rose over Kankuro's green eyes as he looked down at the Inuzuka who wasn't looking at him. Several different forms of taunts or making Kiba ask him politely came to his mind but he shrugged instead, "Sure, no problem."

Kiba lifted his head with an expression that declared the question 'really?' but didn't say it. Instead he looked at Kankuro for a moment before nodding a little and turning to head back for the end of the ally. The Suna jounin followed after him without a word and caught up as they got towards the opening and Kiba headed back towards the house. Kankuro hadn't been to the house yet; rather he had happened to see Kiba amidst following directions to it. He glanced towards Kiba as they headed down the street back towards where they would be staying. Upon looking forward again there was a slight smirk on his face as he reached over to take Kiba's hand with his own.

For whatever reason, Kiba felt warmth spread up his arm from his hand as Kankuro took it and he knew it wasn't his wrist because his sprained wrist was on the other side. He felt the slightly rough cloth of the other's glove press against his palm and Kankuro's smooth fingers lace with his own. Kiba's own fingers were calloused because of his techniques but it was that same excuse that Kankuro had for having soft fingers. Rarely did he ever need to use them in a way that caused them to be injured or worked too hard, being a puppeteer had its advantages. He looked up towards the other as though it was just his face that would give him some kind of explanation.

"Told you, I don't half ass it," Kankuro replied, his smile having returned to something moderate and cool again. He didn't bother to look at Kiba but knew the other was looking up at him and that in and of itself made him want to smile – but he resisted.

"Neither do I," Kiba said as though it was a kind of defense.

The walk back to the house seemed shorter than Kiba remembered and, in some part of his mind that he was aware of, he thought Kankuro was going to let go of his hand. But the other didn't, he held on as Kiba stepped ahead of him to move through the door first and followed after. As the jounin closed the door he could immediately hear feet running in their direction and turned around just as Tsuyu and Moya were in front of them. Tsuyu's mouth was open mid taunt but she stopped immediately at the sight of Kankuro and stared up into his painted face with a mix of awe and shock.

"Who the heck is that?" she demanded, "If you're bringing strangers here I'm gonna tell my mom and dad and he'll have to leave! What's he like your body guard or something?"

Kiba caught Kankuro's expression out of the corner of his eye and noticed the faint twitch of the other's eyebrow at the question and it made him smile in amusement. He looked back to Tsuyu, "This isn't a stranger."

"Well he sure _looks _strange," she replied. Kiba wasn't sure if it was intentional but Kankuro's hand tightened just slightly around his own, not as though he wanted to hurt Kiba but more like he wanted something else that he was getting just from doing that. Well he must have gotten it because his hand didn't tighten anymore nor did he move to do or say anything. The motion threw him for a second and he looked to Kankuro but upon catching the other's glance he shook his head and looked back to Tsuyu.

"His name is Kankuro," Kiba explained.

"Are you fat? 'Cause you kind of look fat to me." Kankuro silently estimated if he could accurately kick her in the face from where he was.

"T-Tsuyu…" Moya said her voice shocked at her own sister's rudeness.

"Well he does, doesn't he?" she asked. Without asking or even looking up at him she walked over to poke Kankuro in the stomach. Actually, she had done it a few times before seeming to decide that there wasn't any fat there to poke. He wasn't fat really; his clothes just gave the impression of it because he preferred to have them loose; the heat in Suna was more tolerable that way, "Okay, I guess he's not fat. But he's still weird looking."

"Would you just go tell my Ma I'm showing him to my room?" Kiba grumbled a little, now being able to completely feel Kankuro's annoyance radiating off of him and fearing more for his own hand than the little girl's face. Tsuyu opened her mouth but Moya cut her off by tugging her sister in the direction of the back and the two ran off.

"That little…" Kankuro started as Kiba headed up the stairs. For whatever reason he still didn't let go of the other's hand, he found the solid matter of something there to be slightly calming, "I hate twerps like that. I hate them."

"I'm not surprised," Kiba replied as he finished his journey up the stairs and headed for his guest room. There was a dresser but Kiba clearly dressed directly from his bag which was lying open on the floor near the foot of the bed. The bed itself was pushed against the wall near a window that looked over the back yard and Akamaru was curled up on it sleeping but he stirred as he two came in. He barked slightly at the sight of the two of them but Kiba just hushed him, "You can put your stuff over there." He pointed to the corner near where his stuff was as he made his way over to the bed.

Kankuro looked skeptically around the room and was utterly unsure if he even wanted to leave his stuff here with kids like that around. Next thing he knew they would be going through his things and he would wake up with a depleted supply of facial paint or his underwear missing. He decided that if anything went missing – and he would take inventory every night and every morning – then he would hide it or something. Kiba's hand slipped free of his hold as they took their separate ways. Soon Kiri's voice was heard shouting up the stairs, "Kiba! Why don't you bring Kankuro down here to meet everyone?"

Kiba, who had been filling Akamaru in on the bed, looked up towards Kankuro as though asking if he was okay with that. The seventeen-year-old just shrugged and headed for the door leaving Kiba to follow after him this time. As they headed down the stairs the twins were peeking from the living room and while Tsuyu's eyes were intently fixed on Kankuro, Moya watched Kiba head in their direction. The Inuzuka teen offered her a soft smile and she blushed a little before smiling herself and nodding a little – a silent exchange of gratitude.

In the living room both families were sitting down chatting about time that had been spent apart and how they were. Raikou was playing with Ritoru in the corner and the twins quickly rushed back over to take their seats between their father and mother. Kiri ran her hand through Moya's hair absent mindedly while both Arashi and Tsuyu looked at Kankuro. Akutenkou was also present this time and his eyes were steadily fixed on the Suna jounin who only glanced in his direction.

"Wow!" Ritoru shouted in wonder, as he looked up to see Kankuro. Kiba silently hoped that he wouldn't say anything to further agitate the boy at his side. Remembering the previous squeeze from Kankuro's hand he reached out this time to take the jounin's hand. For a moment he was a little concerned that Kankuro may reject it but he didn't, he simply laced his fingers back as they had been again. This earned them a few looks from the other family.

"That's Ritoru and Raikou, Ritoru is six and Raikou is sixteen. You already met Tsuyu and Moya, they're twins and that's Akutenkou – he's the oldest," Kiba said. Even though it sounded as though he were simply introducing things, he felt more like he was explaining the people they had to terminate on a mission, "These are their parents, Kiri and Arashi."

They all nodded respectively as their names were said and Kiri's eyes flicked towards her husband before she sat up a little straighter, holding Moya in her lap and stroking her hair gently. She seemed almost nervous for some reason or another, "So, Kankuro, you're a…a friend of Kiba's?"

The rude thing to do would have been to raise his brow and shoot something back but he didn't, after all maybe she thought Kiba was holding his hand because he was shy around people. Well Kankuro was never really shy he just didn't care for people much, not that she would know that. Kiba gave a look to his mother as though she were to blame before looking back to Kiri and giving a strong smile.

"Everyone, this is Kankuro," he said, as though simply continuing the introductions, "He's my boyfriend."


	9. Stage 9

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Swearing and fun child abuse implications as well as some more light guyxguy fluff.  
**Chapter OST:** Bleed Like Me + Disconnected - Trapt; Pain - Three Days Grace; Imperfection + The Last Night - Skillet; Freak on a Leash - Korn; Poison - Groove Coverage; FILTH in the Beauty - Gazette; All That I'm Living For + Like You - Evanescence; I Want My Innocence Back + Liar - Emilie Autumn; Devour - Disturbed  
**Author's Note:** Hell of a chapter OST this time, isn't it? I actually constructed this list before I even began the chapter. Mostly because it sort of helped me focus on where I was going.

Anyway, during editing I ended up adding a lot of things into this one and decided against going back to check again. Last chapter had like no mistakes because I print-edited it; well I can't do that every time because paper costs a lot of money that I don't have. So yeah, as usual point out my mistakes so I can edit them out.

As well, sorry for not replying to comments some of you guys leave. I still adore you all I just hate making my comment count go up by responding to all your guys' amazing comments!

I would also like to say that I'm not sure how I feel about Kankuro's analogy in terms of his sexuality. But I couldn't come up with anything really clever, maybe I should have had a contest.

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The first real reaction Kankuro noticed was Akutenkou because the guy's face had seemed entirely impassive most of the previous encounter and because of that the smallest twitch would have set him off. Even if he hadn't seen him that well, he had been in enough of a viewing range to see that he didn't flinch or anything at all when he had been attacking Kiba. But right as the word 'boyfriend' left Kiba's mouth he suddenly seemed…tense. Something on his face changed as he sat there and Kankuro felt himself squinting to see what it was. He hadn't looked away or even noticed until Akuten broke away by looking at his parents who, in turn, were looking at him. Apparently their gazes had all settled at Kankuro who had been squinting at Akuten – he played it cool and pretended to brush it off.

Arashi's gaze on his son seemed ignited somehow, but Kankuro couldn't really place with what especially considering the fact he was only being given a profile. He decided, after Arashi looked back to the two of them, he didn't really want to know what Akuten could have been feeling right at that moment. That gaze definitely wasn't a particularly happy looking one and Kankuro felt himself glaring straight back into it. He knew that look; knew it better than he ever wanted to. It was the same look his dad gave him when he suspected…but Arashi already knew so there wasn't that 'maybe I'm wrong about him' kind of reflection.

Sometimes his father had looked at him with a little regret, just sometimes, over what he was doing to Kankuro. Kankuro hadn't confessed it, not until the very end, and his father never got the chance to beat him up over it. They were leaving for Konoha the next day and he couldn't risk it, he betted that he thought he'd get it in when Kankuro got back. Poor bastard he missed out on that and Kankuro took some immense pleasure in knowing his father _knew _and couldn't do a _damn thing _about it. He died before he got the chance – he died knowing and died helpless to make Kankuro regret.

"I think you're a little young to be judging something like that, aren't you dear?" Kiri spoke up with a voice that rang with a nervousness that had only started in her previous question. Kankuro noticed how her eyes kept flicking back to her husband and her fingers fidgeted as they ran through Moya's hair. He had this keen habit of becoming more aware of things when he was angry or nervous.

"I never said I thought it was going to last forever," Kiba replied, though his reply was cool Kankuro could feel the anxiety in the other's hand. His fingers jittered across the back of his hand like he wanted to let go but was standing his ground – Kankuro approved.

"Right." Her reply was a bit uneasy, she glanced at Arashi again, "You know how teenagers are dear, and you remember what it was like at that age."

"You don't need to justify our actions." Who said that? Kankuro felt his lips settling back into a line as several gazes landed on him. Oops, apparently someone wasn't playing the shy-visitor card; he'd apologize to Kiba later.

"No," Arashi spoke up this time. Kankuro sensed a challenge in his voice; he was trying to shut him down, "I remember what it was like."

The green eyed Jounin watched as the edge of his mouth gave a slight twitch and he picked up what that really meant though no one else in the room did. 'I remember what it was like' really had a second part and that was 'but I was never a fag'. Kiri nodded but completely missed her son's flinch just slightly off to her right. Kankuro's eyes darted to it immediately, like a moth that keeps flying towards the light even though there's glass in the way. It was minimal but for him it seemed magnified, like Akuten had fallen over and had a seizure there for five minutes that no one caught but him. That flinch meant something, something that no one else would pick up on unless Akuten wanted them to. _Akutenkou knew what his father really meant._

Kiri's fingers caught in Moya's hair so she removed them, Tsume shifted with her eyes on her son while Hana was fixed completely on Kankuro. Raikou was holding his little brother in his lap and Ritoru was being much too still for someone his age. Moya sat like a statue in her mother's grip while Tsuyu's eyes flicked towards her father and then back to Kankuro with something in them. Triumph? Glee? Arashi's face was set in a thin line…one grim line. Kiba's fingertips still flitted across his glove but he could feel it against his skin. The tightness of the air bounced off of Kankuro's face with no reflection. His eyes were still settled on Akutenkou who had become impassive again, if you feel nothing then only the nothingness can hurt you in the end. He remembered that philosophy.

Suddenly Kiba's hand tightened on his and he felt jerked from his heightened sense of awareness, taking in a breath slow and steady. Had he stopped breathing that entire time? Natural, coming back from where he had been. Kiba's voice echoed through the void that was his mind, "I'm going to help him unpack, may we be excused?"

Kiri opened her mouth to say something, her eyes desperate like if they stayed it would pass over but if they left then the would all be stuck in this tension. Arashi beat her to it, "I think that would be best."

"We'll call you for dinner, don't leave the house without telling me next time," Tsume said. Kankuro felt Kiba's hand relax slightly against his own at the sound of his own mother's voice. He nodded more to her than Arashi as they left the room and moved to head back upstairs. Kiba let go of Kankuro's hand as they entered the room and pulled away to head back to the bed. Kankuro slowly shut the door behind him as Kiba grinned, pulling Akamaru into his lap.

"Man, what a family meeting huh? I swear that guy's always been so-"

"That kid's going to get it…" Kankuro muttered softly to himself with his hand still on the door handle.

"Huh?" Kiba turned his head to look at Kankuro over the hill of sheets. The jounin stood there with his back to the door and hand gripping the door handle. He was almost sure that if he could see Kankuro's knuckles they would be white.

Kankuro shook his head, "That kid…Akutenkou or whatever…he's gonna get beat."

"You're insane," he replied, ruffling the fur on Akamaru's head as the dog yawned and gave a quick sneeze before returning back to being asleep.

"No, I'm not." Kankuro frowned hard at the floor.

Arashi was just like his dad; he could sense it like an enemy's chakra and tasted it like bile coming up his throat. His own father was dead but that didn't mean anything here, sure he had managed to escape what he'd been put through but…"I don't know when but he's going to get it, bad too."

"Who's gonna do it? I mean…no one in this house is nearly as strong as he is except-" Kiba's sentence died in his throat as he lifted his head suddenly to look at Kankuro, "You can't mean Arashi's going to do it? He's Akutenkou's dad!"

"So?" Kankuro practically laughed but it was short and bitter, as bitter as the imaginary vomit he was choking down. Why did he feel so sick all of the sudden? He let go of the door and pushed himself away from it to stand in the middle of the room. He stretched out the fingers of his right hand before clenching them tightly. It was hard to feel the reality of his nails digging into the soft skin through the cloth but he was aware that they were there.

"So the guy's a little out there but he's still his dad. He wouldn't-"

"And what the fuck do _you _know about what his dad would or wouldn't do?" Kankuro had snapped quicker and louder than he intended. He watched Kiba's eyes fill with surprise and shock at his outburst before settling into a deep frown and furrowed brow.

"Parents don't do that sort of stuff, okay? They just don't."

Kankuro scoffed, "You live in one hell of an illusion."

"It isn't an illusion!"

"Then you're fucking _clueless_!"

This time Kiba's shocked expression remained on his face for a few good minutes longer than it had previously. Kankuro's right hand shook as it was held so tightly closed that he knew it would cramp and get stiff if he left it that way but he couldn't let it go. He needed to feel something there right now and he knew it. Not that he needed it, but Kiba wasn't holding his hand anymore and that squeeze he had received downstairs wasn't happening again; at least not now. His left hand was clenched just as tightly but didn't shake; it could stay still at his side. It had been unharmed for much of his life and what did happen to it was nothing close to the explosion of his right one. _Nothing close_.

"Why are you so touchy about this?" Kiba asked with his slitted eyes made to be sharp and penetrating. No one ever looked at him like that while discussing anything close to this subject. No one ever touched this subject at all because of the exact reason Kiba questioned. It was touchy. The only two people who knew never questioned him and they never had a reason to. How he handled things, how he dealt with his strife…that was his own business. Whether they respected that or just didn't care didn't matter - the point was just that they left him alone.

He turned around with his hands still shaking even as he tried to relax, he could hear Kiba shifting on the bed behind him to cross the room but he stopped before he got close. Kankuro knew he was trying to be smart by doing that – smart, or good at remembering Kankuro's tendency to lash out. He fought with his hands to make them relax make the tension ease from his muscles. It wasn't coming as easily as he would have liked and he wished this wasn't happening now, not in front of Kiba of all people. He didn't even know the guy that well and he was acting like a kid.

"Only your right hand is shaking."

Kankuro wasn't sure if he jumped or tightness along his form just happened to jump along his spine and make his brain surge. Kiba's voice was soft, mumbled, more like he thought it was an after thought or had been asked a 'what's wrong with this picture' question and wasn't sure if that was the right answer but tried it anyway. He looked down and lifted his hands up, forcing the fingers and muscles to relax. Even in doing that, however, his right hand still shook obviously while his left stayed completely still. He knew his face would be read as vacant as he looked over the black material covering his palms and his quivering fingers.

"Kankuro?" Suddenly he felt Kiba's hand on his shoulder and he jerked away from it. It was the same touch that brought him back to that startling reality downstairs. Even if he couldn't feel Kiba's skin on his own there was still something in that and it jolted him back to his senses again. Maybe it was just because whenever he got this way, filled with this kind of tension and so sharp, no one ever tried to touch him before. They left him on his own, made him handle it by himself – that was what he was used to and what Kiba wasn't giving him right now. Did he want that? Maybe he liked having someone to snap him out of it instead of having to do it himself. Either way he jerked away from the familiar touch where he had welcomed it downstairs and decided he just wasn't sure he wanted to _be _in reality right now.

"Just forget it, forget I said anything," he mumbled as he crossed the room for the door and pulled it open. Kiba wanted to call after him but he didn't, he just watched the jounin walk out and followed enough to see where he was going. The boy just moved down the stairs and he heard him pass to Tsume that he was going out for a while and would return in a little bit before opening and closing the door behind him. Kiba found himself alone in his room for the moment and suddenly very confused about what had just happened there not ten minutes before.

---------------------------

Kankuro walked around the outside of the house a few times but did his best to avoid windows for one reason or another. He didn't need these people suspecting him of anything as he circled their little home looking down along the foundation. It only took him the second walk around to find what he was looking for; the other six circles were simply for time wasting measurements. It still wasn't all that late around the time Kiba had come out looking for him for dinner. The Inuzuka boy seemed rather shocked to see him just walking around the outside of the house.

"Where'd you think I would be?" Kankuro questioned, though his voice lacked its previous spark of anger.

"I…I don't know," Kiba said with a shrug and attempting to completely brush it off, but Kankuro knew what was going on. Kiba had assumed that Kankuro would have run off and either left or would have stayed gone until all was quiet in the house then returned for his stuff to run off. God, he takes off once after a near death experience and this kid expects him to high-tail it at every bump in the road. He found himself cursing at that comment, it sounded too much like this was a real relationship.

The two returned back inside for dinner and all the previous tension that had been there seemed to have erased from the air. Except Kankuro noticed how Arashi and Akutenkou both remained particularly quiet and the younger jounin's eyes never seemed to lift from his plate. His head remained down and intently focused on his food even though he wasn't eating. Green eyes flicked around over the other faces and Kiba noticed, trying to see what Kankuro would have been, but not catching on. How could no one at the table notice this? Then again maybe the only reason Kankuro noticed was because he had lived it once – from experience breeds familiarity, he supposed.

Dinner proceeded in a padded wall of nothingness for Akutenkou, Arashi, and Kankuro – all of which were quiet and remained mostly unnoticed. But Kankuro realized soon that he hadn't been completely over looked as he felt something warm brush his hand. He lifted his head out from his daze for the third time that day to glance over and see Kiba's hand near his own. His eyes lifted up to the boy who was now pretending not to notice and was engaged in laughing at something his mom had said. A painted brow raised above his eye, _Apparently this kid really doesn't half ass it._

Kiba was told to help Kiri and some of the kids with dishes but Kankuro retreated upstairs with Akutenkou following behind him. Somehow he wasn't surprised at the fact he was ducking back into his room. They walked in silence for much of the journey upstairs and as Kankuro opened his door, Akutenkou was reaching to do the same.

"So you just wait for it to happen?" Akuten froze with his hand on the door handle; his ears gave a soft throb as Kankuro's voice cut through the silence of the upstairs. He didn't move or answer and though his heart rate had jumped, his face remained calm and apathetic. The jounin really didn't know why he bothered; it wasn't like Kankuro could see. It wasn't as though he could have known anything; he was just some dumb foreigner that came along with Kiba. That dumb mutt hadn't even figured it out and he knew Akutenkou even longer…there was no way Kankuro could have known anything.

The brunette jounin shrugged, "I did the same thing, so I don't blame you."

He reacted before he thought even if that was a stupid thing to do when one was a high ranking jounin; he looked over his shoulder. His shoulders tightened to the point he could feel his piercings and muscles aching against them but he didn't move to relax. To be honest, he wasn't sure he even could. Kankuro disappeared into the guest room before he even got a good look at that dark painted face and he was left unable to read a single damn thing from it. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it, Akutenkou ducked into his own dark room and shut the door on Kankuro's words.

Kankuro was lying on the bed when Kiba came upstairs and sat down on the side of it, a large yawn coming from between his lips, "And I thought your mouth was big _normally_."

Kiba gave him playfully angry look as he lay back across Kankuro's stomach forcing the air from him with an 'oompf' sound. He caught sight of Kankuro's hand out of the corner of his eye and expected the impact of a hit but didn't get one. Instead he just pulled his arm out from under Kiba to lay it over him more comfortably. For a while the two just sat there in silence staring up at the ceiling in a silent agreement that, with nothing interesting to say, perhaps nothing said at all was a better route to be taken. Kiba slid down a little so Kankuro's side supported his head more and looked down at the hand on his stomach. Kankuro, who caught him looking, drummed his fingers over the other's abdomen in a small, pointless dance.

"You're so weird," Kiba snorted before moving his own hand on top of Kankuro's to make the drumming stop as it started to tickle. Kankuro smirked a little and looked back up at the ceiling, his other arm behind his head to support it somewhat more upright.

"Not exactly normal yourself."

Kiba felt Kankuro's hands wriggle under his own and he pressed down a little more to keep the jounin from wiggling his hand free. Used to the Chinese finger-trap game, Kankuro let his hand relax under Kiba's and heated his fingers with chakra before shifting them subtly over the other's shirt. The warmth from the other's fingertips was undeniable and it felt like the kind of belly rub his mom used to give him except warmer. Instinctively Kiba's toes curled against the hard wood floor and a tingle started low along his back before moving up his spine quickly and making him shudder. Once he realized what he'd done he sat up so suddenly he was standing before he realized it.

Even though chakra was invisible, the fact that Kiba could feel the warmth of Kankuro's energy-coated fingers along his abdomen made him swear he could see traces of blue fire along the other's fingertips. His glare moved from the hand to its owner whose face seemed as though nothing strange at all had just happened. Besides this Kiba could still see the gleam of amusement in his eyes from his profile and he ran his own warm (but not as warm as Kankuro's) hand over his stomach. He could still _feel _him there.

"You don't have to play the gay card when we're alone," he pointed out. Kankuro's hand fell back to the bed as though it had suddenly become dead weight and he looked over at the other with an expression of both entertainment and attempted seriousness.

"And you don't have to play the straight one."

If the statement had been an attack Kiba was sure he would have been knocked through several walls by it. Kankuro's eyes, though still bearing that amused look, were completely serious as he stared at Kiba's face. The Inuzuka felt his gaze slipping from Kankuro's eyes to other places like his ear, just beyond his head…his lips.

"W-What?" he hated himself immediately for stuttering but knew it had already happened. Kankuro pushed himself up to an Indian style position with his back against the wall as he looked at Kiba with that sort of gaze that made Kiba wonder what the hell was so funny.

He sat there observing for a good few minutes before laughing as though it were some inside joke that Kiba didn't know about, "You're serious."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement, so Kiba didn't even try to answer it. He just kept his eyes on Kankuro's face as though he would be able to find his answers there. Kankuro noticed the questions in his eyes even if Kiba didn't seem to realize he was putting them there. He slid to the edge of the bed and Kiba bravely didn't shy away from him. He planted his bare feet on the floor and dug his elbows into his thighs, crossing his forearms. His expression was one of pure disbelief but not shock, just…disbelief. Disbelief about something he found funny.

"Kid…Kiba," he corrected himself, "I'm about as straight as a pretzel."

"_What!_" Kiba was never really one to allow words to sink in before protesting them or reacting in some way or another. He jumped back more out of reaction than actual fear but he swore he saw something mixed between anger and possibly…hurt?...on Kankuro's face.

"You didn't know?" he asked then seemed to think, "Temari said I always came off that way."

"Well you don't!" Kiba shouted. Kankuro fixed him with a look this time and Kiba could definitely tell that it was anger. He wasn't sure why he assumed that Kankuro would ever look hurt over his opinion. It wasn't like they were best friends or hung around really, but he swore there was something else there a minute ago.

Once again the two fell into a bout of silence for a while and Kiba ended up tearing his gaze away for a time. Kankuro, however, kept his gaze firmly on the Inuzuka and watched for some kind of feedback that would tip the scale of reaction in one direction or another. After a moment, when Kiba didn't seem like he was going to be having any more outbursts, he spoke up, "So, what? You want me go now?"

"I never said that," Kiba shot back so suddenly it caught him off guard for a moment. Kankuro's green eyes blinked at him before he shrugged a little and lied back on the bed again.

That answer sent a small wave of relief over his body for one reason or another; or rather, because in the back pocket of his brain he felt like maybe this was a good thing. At least Kiba knew that he wasn't faking anything now. Then again, maybe now he would jump to the conclusion that everything Kankuro had done was flirting? Which…it had been anyway, so that didn't really matter? Sure, he'd go with that.

"Listen, kid, is this gonna freak you out for the rest of this trip or something?" Kankuro asked from the bed, his eyes closed. Soon he felt the side of the bed sink under Kiba's weight and he opened an eye to look at the brunette. He got a little eye contact this time, which was good; at least he wasn't staring off into the nothingness. Kankuro couldn't really say that 'I'm so lost yet thoughtful' look suited him as well as some of the others.

"Just don't molest me in my sleep or anything," he mumbled, fixing Kankuro with an annoyed look.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. It's so much more fun when you're awake."

Kiba caught sight of an actual _grin _from Kankuro as the jounin moved over so he could fit onto the bed. He wasn't sure why but he felt his stomach clench slightly at the sight of that grin and the mischievous glint in the other's eyes. He wasn't sure what kind of clench it was, bad or good, but he had realized it happened at all which earned him points somehow. He hadn't thought Kankuro was serious about the flirting before, but what did it mean now? Did he only agree to this to get with Kiba? Damn, what the hell made him think Kiba wanted to be 'got' with anyway?

Despite the fact he had moved over for Kiba to lie down, the Inuzuka still flopped down with his head resting on Kankuro's stomach. Once again Kankuro wiggled his arm out from under the other's weight but didn't put his hand on the other like he had previously. Kiba discretely glanced at the hand from the corner of his eye but didn't say anything about it. Alright, so maybe he liked the feel of that warmth radiating from Kankuro's fingertips slipping through the cloth of his shirt. Maybe it did make his stomach tighten in a giddy way and maybe he did kind of wish the other would have done it again…but he'd be damned if _Kankuro _knew that.


	10. Stage 10

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Lots of violence and sort of graphic in this chapter.  
**Chapter OST:** Dear Diary + Family Portrait - Pink; Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; Just Like You + I Hate Everything About You + Drown - Three Days Grace; Weak and Powerless - A Perfect Circle; A bunch of others that Shea can't remember.  
**Author's Note:** This chapter has both its good and bad points in my opinion. But I haven't updated in a week and it's 11:41 and I sort of just wanna to go to sleep.

So yeah, it might need some editing but that's what I have Bloody and Burnt for! I didn't realize how long it was taking me to finish this chapter but I'm looking forward to the next few and I hope you guys are too. As well I would like to say there is a **prequel to this fanfiction called 'Wrong Side of Reaction' **that might have been over looked. If you're thinking that something bad went on between Kankuro and his dad that fanfiction elaborates on it a little more if you want to read it.

-yawns- As for now, I'm out. G'night!

---------------

Every time they visited this place Kiba always found at least one night where he woke up in the middle of it for no real reason. Partially, upon gradually migrating towards unconsciousness, he had hoped that maybe having Kankuro lying next to him would have helped him sleep. Not so much over the fact it was Kankuro was it was simply having someone next to him at all. Obviously he was beyond the point that he needed to sleep with his mother or sister and most of the time when he woke up he was able to fall back asleep within the hour. After lying there for a few minutes he began to wonder why he would have felt safer having Kankuro next to him in bed when the guy had pretty much just ousted himself as being gay. Kiba didn't think he was lying about the molesting thing and as he glanced over to the other he took in the fact Kankuro was very much asleep.

The brunette washed off his facial paint before going to sleep and Kiba had seen his real face beneath it for the first time. His black eyes scanned over Kankuro's surprisingly light toned, slumbering face. It seemed like people who lived in the desert wouldn't have been so pale but then again looking at his siblings he began to wonder if the sand their village was hidden in hid them from even things such as the sun. Normally, even without the paint, Kankuro's face seemed dark and drastic in a way that Kiba couldn't explain. Now, looking on him sleeping, he seemed like he would be an entirely different person were he conscious. The moonlight cut through the mist outside the windows with a sharp precision, as though its mission was to let Kiba see Kankuro as clearly as possible.

He slept without a shirt on but wore a pair of lose dark black pants that were hidden under the blanket the two shared. Kiba couldn't deny that Kankuro was handsome…his face seemed sharper but far from angular without the facial paint. It wasn't round but it wasn't evil looking like the villains in the cartoons he used to watch when he was a kid. For some stupid reason he was surprised by the fact that Kankuro actually looked _peaceful _in his sleep. Even if it was dumb to assume that he would look the same awake as he did sleeping the fact that Kankuro didn't look angry or serious seemed so strange. Everything about his face was really relaxed and calm, Kiba's eyes drifted over his thin eyebrows (was that natural or did he pluck them like Hana and his Ma did?) and medium sized nose. His eyes were small but not too small for his face, they seemed bigger without all the dark paint surrounding them.

Eventually his eyes descended to Kankuro's lips which were partially open to help with the process of breathing. He didn't snore, actually Kankuro slept more silently than anyone Kiba knew aside from Shino who usually looked the same in his sleep as he did awake. Much like the rest of his face, his lips looked a little thicker without the make up. They weren't 'pouty' like girls lips could be, but they just weren't as thin as some people's either. They were a nice size for his face; he noticed how his mouth seemed sort of smaller then anyone in his own family. Maybe it was because he was so quiet and frowned so much. The thought made Kiba's mind flash back to Kankuro's grin earlier. He still had his face paint on then and he bet Kankuro looked a lot lighter without all the paint when he grinned like that, not so evil.

Once he caught himself staring he shifted his eyes back up and his brain registered the familiar sight so they slipped down instead. Kiba caught sight of the other's collarbone and his eyes continued to slide down his chest. Tsuyu's previous statement about Kankuro being fat was so far from the truth Kiba almost found it funny. Under the bulky clothes Kankuro was built firm, surprisingly firm for someone who mostly remained stationary during a fight. When he first took off his shirt Kiba felt the slightest tightening in his stomach and the urge to reach out and see if he really was as solid as he looked. Of course he resisted, but looking over the other's body as it disappeared into the blanket was just making it crawl up his spine again and his fingers twitched against his own thigh.

_Falling asleep is even harder with him here_, he grumbled mentally before rolling over to silently slip out of bed. Kankuro shifted a little on the mattress but didn't wake up and Kiba crossed the room silently to leave him behind and asleep. He glanced over his shoulder once he was closer to the door and saw Kankuro had moved onto his back with his arm lying over his stomach and atop the covers; it was his left one.

Before they had gone to sleep Kiba asked about why Kankuro's right hand shook when his left didn't but he'd just brushed it off. He didn't even offer an excuse, just told Kiba to drop it and forget he ever saw anything. Needless to say, curiosity doesn't just affect cats. He had dropped it for then but decided that he would try asking again seeing as he and Kankuro seemed to be getting unintentionally closer. Not that he didn't like it.

Silently he slipped out of the room and let the door partially close behind him but didn't bother latching it. He planned on returning after getting a drink from downstairs anyway and messing with trying to keep the latch quiet while sneaking back in would be a pain. The Inuzuka headed downstairs stealthily, glancing over all the doors as he did so. Everyone's was closed except for Akutenkou's which was open to expose a room without a single sliver of moonlight in it. Even squinting Kiba couldn't make out a thing in the older boy's room and didn't even have to think before deciding he wasn't going to venture in there to see if there was anything of interest. Instead he moved to continue his trek downstairs and to the kitchen.

He grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and ran some water from the faucet to fill it, chugging most of it as he turned to lean back against the counter. When the sound of his own swallowing left his ears they gave a soft throb when a sound echoed through the silence. It actually wasn't so much a single sound as something more like a voice. Black eyes scanned over the room and the moonlight from the window almost managed to obscure the light leaking from under a door down one of the hallways. Kiba set the glass back on the counter and made his way towards it just as silently as he had left Kankuro sleeping upstairs.

As he managed to get closer the voice didn't get louder so much as just clearer and Kiba identified the door as one of the ones he wasn't suppose to go in. Ma told him that it just lead to the basement but Arashi had stuff down there he didn't want the kids playing with so it was often locked and off limits for all of them. Except Akutenkou, which Kiba had noted a few times on previous visits when the other boy would go downstairs with his father and often didn't resurface for a while even when Arashi came back up hours before.

_That kid's going to get it…_Kankuro's voice sliced through his head like a kunai leaving an enemy's hands. Kiba felt a shudder shoot up his spine and had to check behind him to make sure the other teen wasn't really standing there. The hallway was empty and dark clear back to the kitchen where silver light from the moon lit up the end in a very 'light at the end of the tunnel' fashion. However, Kiba's thoughts were pulled from the tunnel idea as something resembling a stressed part of a lecture reached his ears. He crept slightly closer to the door and knelt down in a way that nearly resembled his position for his Down on All Fours technique.

Immediately Arashi's angry voice flooded his ears but he wasn't shouting, rather he was just talking in a very crisp and angry way. Kiba's ears gave a second gentle throb but he focused beyond it to understand something he soon realized he didn't want to hear.

"Not only are you a freak but you're a complete failure as well, aren't you? After how specifically I told you to do everything, the berating words and bullying. You think something like you would have been able to relate enough," he cursed. A soft and mottled groan was audible before he continued, "You really can't save anyone, can you? Why am I not _surprised_?"

On the word surprised Kiba heard the familiar sound of a jaw being kicked - he knew it because it sounded a lot like when someone hit Akamaru's snout. If their mouth was open the teeth would slam together and give a hollow echo which was the exact sound he had just heard before he heard a body collide with one of the walls downstairs. The resounding thud made him jump slightly and slide his foot back as though he were preparing to run. Yet at the same time he didn't know if he wanted to move and thoughts raced through his head; the first of which was that Kankuro had been right.

"Look what you've done…" Arashi continued after a moment but his voice had become softer. Kiba's keen ears didn't have to strain to hear it but it sounded almost pleased, like he was on the verge of laughing, "You've gotten me so riled up I couldn't even wait until the visit was over. I certainly hope I didn't break your jaw with that…"

Kiba swallowed something thick and solid in his throat but he didn't know what it was, his eyes widened and his entire form felt tense. He wasn't even sure he could move. This had to have been a nightmare, what Kankuro had said had gotten to him. There wasn't anyway that Arashi was seriously downstairs beating Akutenkou. That was completely absurd, Kankuro's suggestion had been absurd, this really wasn't happening. Of all the stupid things to have dreams about, he knew he would just wake up and tell his Ma about this in the morning. She would laugh because parents didn't do this sort of thing, his certainly hadn't, why would anyone else's?

Before he knew he had done it the sight in the basement flooded the Inuzuka's dark slit eyes. In a brief moment of irrational insanity he had yanked open the door and ran down the stairs only to find the inevitable. Akutenkou, from being slammed back against the wall, had collapsed to his knees on the floor with his bruised and red soaked arms barely managing to support himself. The towering form of his father knelt in front of him with a pale hand sharply twisted in his black locks and keeping his face up.

Subconsciously Kiba noticed that Akutenkou's face and back were completely untouched - the parts of him that he had left visible weren't harmed at all. Arashi's fist that wasn't twisted in the other's hair was down at his side prepared for another hit and coated lightly in its own layer of Akutenkou's blood. The teen's jaw was clenched and blood coated his mouth but it must have been from the hits along his stomach because his jaw didn't look broken or cut. The loudest thing in the silence of the basement now were the strangled gagging sounds he was making from between partially open lips and clenched teeth.

He had never been compelled to worship Akuten as a hero but the guy had always been so powerful compared to him. Not once had he ever seen him at the mercy of anyone before and now here he was collapsed at the feet of his own father. The blood that ran from his shoulders over his arms, the dark bruises from previous attacks on his stomach, the scars along his chest…had Arashi done all of it? Done this to his son?

"Kiba," Arashi said with shock in his voice but not a hint of guilt or regret. He looked over at the teenager that stood at the base of the stairs, holding the railing tightly in his hand as though it steadied him, with a sense of amusement. Akutenkou felt panic flood his system at the name and despite the pain in his scalp holding his head immobile he turned to looked over where his father had turned. _What's he doing down here? Don't just stand there you idiot,_ but he couldn't form words without his body wrenching by now. His organs were filled with an intense burn from the constant abuse hours before Kiba had arrived and vomit turned blood threatened to spill from him if he tried.

He looked back to his father again as Arashi's dark eyes turned towards him once more and he felt his expression faltering. His body hadn't shook in years and now he was finding he couldn't prevent it. He communicated with his eyes what his father had long since stopped listening to.

Arashi's eyes turned back to Kiba once more with a charming smile in place as he didn't hesitate to pull Akutenkou up by his hair enough to send his knee powerfully into the boy's sternum. Akutenkou felt it creak threateningly against the pressure and pain swelled through him once more before his father's foot crashed into his stomach with a chakra-amplified kick. His head, which had been thrown back, curved forward with the rest of his body as he spat up blood onto his father's leg and was then tossed back against the wall by his once long black hair.

The solid thud once more rang through Kiba's ears as Akutenkou collapsed to his knees then eventually his front side, body quivering and red. Arashi's hand entered his sight and he followed it back up to an almost pleased looking face, "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise? What are you doing up at this hour, Kiba? Don't you think you should be-"

"Have you lost your mind?" he shouted so loud he knew his vocal cords had woken up sometime during the past scene, "He's your son! What could possibly make you ever want to do something like this to him!"

That pleased look slipped from Arashi's face as he looked to Akutenkou who seemed to be trying to move but couldn't manage it. His eyes were closed tightly in agony when Arashi brought his blank face back up to Kiba, "I believe how I handle my son's problems are of my own choice. I don't need your judgment."

"His _problems_? The only problem that would call for this would be him trying to kill you!" Kiba argued, "Nothing else could possibly call for you to do this to him."

"E-"

"_Nothing._"

Thinking yet at the same time not calculating the consequences, Kiba ran forward to help Akutenkou. The able jounin lashed out a long leg that Kiba slid under before reaching up to dig his claws deeply into the skin. Arashi's eyebrows furrowed in pain but he jerked his leg down hard and it collided with the Inuzuka's shoulder. Kiba crashed onto the hard dirt floor but lashed out his other claw scratch it severely into Arahi's thigh before toppling him off of his standing leg.

The jounin's other leg proved to still be quite able as he caught Kiba on the side of the head and sent him flipping over the previous leg. Kiba's head smashed into the ground before he rolled a few feet away and shakily pushed himself back up. But by that time Arashi was already up and making his way in Kiba's direction. The teenager's breath came in a rush and his head spun as he fought to get himself back up without collapsing unintentionally. His sprained wrist throbbed agonizingly in time with his head as he tried to ready himself again yet was finding it increasingly harder. Black eyes followed as Arashi's blurry form continued in his direction with a hand reaching towards him but suddenly fell from view; quite literally.

The fingers of Kankuro's outstretched hand twitched and pulled to make Arashi topple to the ground none too gracefully. The taller jounin turned around to glare something threatening over his shoulder but found himself facing the two Inuzuka women as well. Tsume grabbed him by the front of his shirt before yanking him more upright and shoving her snarling face in his own, "If you ever touch my son again I'll rip out your throat."

Hana moved past both of them to help her little brother back to his feet once more and Kankuro walked over to help steady him, "Can you watch him while I help Akutenkou?"

"Sure," Kankuro replied as he slipped a hand around Kiba's slim waist and allowed the Inuzuka to lean against him; which Kiba seemed perfectly alright with doing. The throbbing in his head began to calm back down once again as Kankuro's scent, which he was becoming increasingly accustomed to, filled his nose once more.

"Get out of here and don't _ever _come back," Tsume threatened with Kuromaru at her heels ready for attack. Arashi tried to argue but before Hana had even managed to get Akutenkou onto his back she was dragging him upstairs to quite literally throw him outside. Much of the rest of the household had been woken up by the commotion but only Raikou and Kiri stayed to witness it.

"I think I'm okay," Kiba said as he pushed off to try and stand on his own only to find that he wasn't 'okay' yet. Kankuro's hand shot out with an intent quickness to wrap his arm around his waist once again and ease him towards the ground where Kiba sat for a few moments with his hand pressing over his eyes to the point they began to ache.

"That kick had chakra in it, didn't it? If it went straight to your head it might have messed you up a little worse than a normal kick. Just wait for a while, you've got no where better to be," Kankuro instructed. Kiba gave the slightest of nods and held onto the material of his sleep pants tightly but keeping near the warm form. He relaxed back against Kankuro's leg braced against his back and took a deep breath before exhaling it smoothly.

"You were right…" he mumbled softly, eyes still closed. Kankuro tore his eyes away from Hana across the room to fix them on Kiba once again. The teenager opened his eyes partially to squint at Kankuro with an inquisitive look, "How did you know Arashi would beat him? You sounded so sure of yourself…"

The Suna jounin watched the other's expression for a moment without answering because he didn't want to answer it. He didn't know Kiba anymore now then he had last time they had come close to having this conversation. Kankuro wasn't ready then to tell Kiba anything about something as serious as what had happened between him and his father. Considering Kiba's previous ignorance and apparent shock about the situation, maybe it wasn't only that Kankuro wasn't ready to tell; maybe Kiba wasn't ready to hear either.


	11. Stage 11

**Title:** Deception at Intermission  
**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own. But Mimimaru (Kiba's father) is **my** creation.  
**Warning(s):** Swearing, child abuse, sexual implications.  
**Chapter OST:** I'm Still Here - John Rzeznik ; Broken - Seether featuring Amy Lee ; Toxic Love - Tim Curry (FernGully OST) ; 300 OST ; Liar + I Want My Innocence Back - Emilie Autumn

**Author's Note:** I like this chapter and don't like it. The ending of it is all like...blah and messy to me. And really, after their little chat, I am not sure where all the molestation came in. But it blended really well while I was writing so I can only hope the same happens when it comes to reading it too because if it doesn't...well that sucks.

Sorry it took so long for this update, I've been busy with end of school stuff and writing this is getting a little harder to focus on. But I'm done after Tuesday so I should be able to finish this up soon and then I have other commitments I need to work on. But either way, I hope this chapter was worth the wait for all of you! I didn't take the time to edit it as well as I might have liked, so for that I'm sorry.

--------------------------

They couldn't stay to make sure that Akutenkou recovered properly but before leaving the next day they were assured nothing was life threatening. Despite Kiba's question on the previous night about how he knew that Arashi was going to beat Akuten, Kankuro hadn't answered. However, Kiba didn't feel like pushing the question and simply let it slip through his fingers. After all, it was none of his business and it wasn't as though the two of them were that close anyway.

Kankuro was packing up his clothes when Kiri knocked on the door of the room he and Kiba had been sharing. Timidly she peered in to look at the two boys; Kiba sprawled out on the bed with Akamaru across his stomach and Kankuro mid-motion of standing up. They both turned to look at her as she walked in and smiled softly making Kiba remember when she used to smile like that and recall that he hadn't seen it since the last time his dad had visited. Was Mimimaru the peace keeper of the house? It explained a lot…including why Akuten had suddenly seemed to change so much after his father no longer was able to come.

"Ah, boys, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Almost," Kiba responded as he sat up and looked over to her. Moya came jogging into the room and ran into her mother's side. She wrapped her small fingers in her mother's dark dress and hid partially behind her as she looked over the two.

"Good, good," she said, though her voice seemed to be fading slightly in thought. As she came back her eyes settled on Kiba, "Akutenkou…would like to see you…before you go. If you wouldn't-"

"Of course not," he replied with a nod even though his hands had tightened slightly on the sheets of the bed. Kankuro's eyes slipped from Kiri to Kiba before settling back on the task at hand; what did it matter to him what the two had to exchange?

Kiba slid off the bed and moved across the room to head for the boy's room. Though his body had received extensive damage, nothing was really that badly injured. It was mostly bruises and gashes that could be mended with healing techniques and bandaging. This may have been good except Kiba only registered it as the fact that Arashi knew what he was doing. He knew how and where to hit Akuten to assure that it wouldn't kill him but would keep him silent…keep what he was doing hidden. The feeling that slid through his stomach and clenched on his insides wasn't comfort so much as guilt. Why hadn't he seen it sooner after knowing them for much longer then Kankuro, who had only visited now?

He took a deep breath and exhaled it calmly before pushing open the door to move into Akuten's room. The inside of it was considerably different from the dark abyss it had been the previous night and the curtains were open to allow in what light managed to creep between the fog and mist of his village. The jounin in question sat in his bed with his upper torso and arms bandaged heavily as well as his head. Kiba noted how the short black locks weren't completely crushed under the white gauze as some managed to jut out and hang in Akuten's pale face.

Even though he was weak his eyes opened instantly, however partially, the moment Kiba stepped inside. The Inuzuka felt them resting on him and his steps paused but as his eyes traveled over Akutenkou's body he noted his fingers motioning for him to continue the journey to the side of the bed. He pulled up a chair and took a seat at the head of the bed and looked over the once so powerful seeming jounin. Akutenkou had been beaten badly yet still Kiba couldn't register the image in front of him as pathetic or weak – it wasn't as though he had died; he was merely down.

"Didn't think you'd want to see me of all people, being in this condition and everything," Kiba pointed out, scratching the back of his head as his nerves started up. Akutenkou's eyes rested closed again as though the sound of Kiba's voice had confirmed that the past thirty seconds had really happened and now he could go by only the sound of the Inuzuka's voice for reassurance that he wasn't dreaming.

"Did you…ever notice?" Akutenkou asked in a soft voice. It sounded like he wanted to cough something up but if he tried he risked breaking a lung.

Kiba sat in silence for a moment, blinking at the other and frowning, "Notice what?"

A soft and faint chuckle from the bandage form, "I guess…not."

"You know I hate it when I don't get things…I think I can take you in this state," he joked past his annoyance though he wasn't sure if it was more for his or Akuten's sake.

The form on the bed was silent for some time after that and Kiba watched as his smile settled back into a line and gradually his breathing evened out to the point it was almost hard to see. He found himself staring at the other's chest and awaiting for it to rise again so he could make sure the boy hadn't died on him. It wasn't until what seemed like ten minutes later that he spoke up again, his voice still as soft as before but showing something that Kiba couldn't quite separate.

"When I was…before your dad died…" he coughed weakly, face contorting with pain before resting against the pillow again. His fingers fisted in the sheets slightly and shook with the effort but he worked around it, "…my dad…was always violent. Mimimaru…knew it too…but my mom loved him…or was afraid to leave him…he was more like a dad then mine was…he…looked out for me. For…all my siblings…"

Kiba's eyes slipped down to Akutenkou's hand which now relaxed and tensed once again. His voice wasn't changing but Kiba was sure that was because it had already cracked and if it went anymore he would have already been near tears. In watching Akuten's hand he also let his head drift to remember his father who played with both him and Akutenkou. Never one over the other, then as they got older he played with the other kids…taught the older boys how to do it. How not to get angry…how to play fair…

"When my…dad got angry at me or Rai or anyone…he would get so violent and my mom couldn't…she was pregnant so…he let my dad beat on him," Akutenkou continued, "…I wasn't suppose to know…but when I…was older he told me…that he would always take care of us. But if something happened I had to be strong…until I could take care of him myself...he wasn't suppose to die so…soon, Kiba, he was gone before I was ready…"

Blood began soaking through the once white bandages once again and Kiba's eyes widened slightly before his hand shot out to touch Akutenkou's. It released from the intent grip on the covers near immediately and Kiba slid his other hand into his chilly palm. His eyes lifted to the jounin's face which was once again contorted with something but it didn't resemble the same sort of pain as before. Light caught on the clear, liquid tears clinging to his black lashes and along the corners of his eyes.

"Arashi…thought you were going to take his place…but you were just a kid…not even as old as Raikou. I couldn't…it would have been like letting him attack Ritoru…so I said I would do it…and take his beatings too…"

"Y-You what?" Kiba choked halfway through the words as a sudden roadblock appeared in his throat he wasn't aware of. His frantic eyes darted up to Akuten's face once again and he felt the other's fingers twitch in his grip in a paranoid reflex. He looked down again and relaxed his hands in their hold but his frown stayed firm.

"I became a bully because of what he did to me. But I knew if I stopped then you'd get it even worse…after a while I think I was a jerk because…I liked it…to feel like I was finally in…control of something when my life was…in Hell. But, Kiba, I was…so grateful to your dad for what he did…for me and my siblings…I had to protect you the only way I could…"

"Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you…I could have told my mom and she would have made him-"

"I wanted to…tell you after you became a chuunin…so I knew you could help me and no one…else would get hurt or involved but…you stopped…coming to visit two years ago. I never got the chance."

Kiba felt his throat tighten sharply and he forced his hands to relax as to not make Akutenkou freak out once more. None of this made any sense yet at the same time everything clicked in the back of his head. He hadn't stolen Akutenkou's toy but he had been useless to him in place of his father. He wasn't strong enough to do what his father had done, wasn't old enough to protect people yet. But Akuten hadn't been either…but he'd stepped forward. He had known…he had tried.

Guilt rushed through him but he refused to show it, or at least attempted not to while sitting in the room with Akutenkou. It wouldn't have done anything for him to get upset now but still he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for either him or Mimimaru. Why hadn't his father mentioned something? Or said something to his mother for her to tell him? The second he had that thought though, he realized that Tsume may have simply jumped into the problem. Whenever Mimimaru got injured while visiting he always said it was sparring. Kiba remembered being disappointed in his dad sometimes because it always looked like he lost. He felt like a moron for it now.

"Didn't your mom know? Couldn't she have done something?"

"She was…afraid to so I said she shouldn't…worry about it. My dad would have never killed me…that would have gotten too messy and…complicated. He was violent but not stupid."

"I'm sorry, Akuten," Kiba replied swiftly, almost before Akutenkou had even finished his sentence. The other's dark eyes looked to him and he smiled just faintly.

"I appreciate you stepping in, Kiba. I was starting to…" he trailed off and frowned again. Kiba looked down at the others hands still held lightly in his grip. He fidgeted and Kiba moved his top hand away in a testing motion and Akutenkou removed his hand from the hold. In the back of his mind he thought it may have been that he assumed Kiba wanted him to let go but decided not to say anything. Instead his hands moved back to his own lap and he looked down on them, "…I was beginning to fear that I would have never…done anything to make him stop."

Without thinking Kiba moved to open his mouth but something made him stop before he said anything. Absent mindedly he crossed his arms over his stomach and tightened them slightly near where Kankuro had hit him what seemed like ages ago. Was Akutenkou like him as well? Did he enjoy pain as much as Kiba was beginning to believe he did? At first it seemed so stupid, like it was natural or he was just acting weird. But now…he was beginning to realize that maybe it wasn't that simple.

"Did you like it?" he asked softly, nervously. The second the words left his lips he panicked at how insane he must have sounded. Who liked pain besides some kind of insane weirdo?

Akutenkou hesitated for a while and Kiba only felt himself drowning in his thoughts before the other spoke, "I think I was beginning to. Not like it so much as…need it…maybe."

"Need it?"

"In the beginning it only hurts," Akutenkou said, looking towards his open window and the light streaming in through it, "But after a while I became accustomed to it. It was like…a part of the routine…I'm sure that I will live without it but I did start to find some sense of…normality…in it. It feels warm when I'm not too beat up…"

He remembered how warm he had felt after Kankuro had punched him and the sting coursed throughout his body. The way it felt when he bit his hand and that reassurance that he wasn't so out of it he could still think flooded his system. He remembered how his head swam and it alerted him quickly when Arashi had kicked him the night before. His body shook and everything felt almost fuzzy but his heart was thudding. The ache in his spine from being pressed against the back of the couch when he had gone to see Kankuro in the hotel…it enveloped him.

"Has…" he halted the question before he could complete it and shook his head slightly. No, that he wouldn't ask. Akutenkou had clarified enough on what it was like for him and where they may have been similar – Kiba knew they were not.

It wasn't a sense of normality or something he had gotten used to that pain brought with it. The feelings were something else, something that he enjoyed. He was sure if it was mixed with the right intimacy, if it was dangerous enough, he would thrive off of it. It had never gotten to that point for him, not yet, but he remembered how close it almost felt with Kankuro previously. The jounin's scent as it flooded his nostrils and he pressed down on that bruise to his stomach which ached and sent a feverish heat throughout him. Even the memory made his stomach flutter and clench sharply so he pushed it away.

"You should get going," Akutenkou said, his weak voice still managing to interrupt Kiba's thoughts. The Inuzuka looked at him for a moment before nodding and pushing himself up; he was probably right. Even if his packing was finished he still had other things to deal with and figured out ways to avoid Kankuro during the trip home.

As he pulled open the door a thought occurred to him that made him turn around. Akutenkou noticed he hadn't left and tilted his head in the other's direction, "Why didn't you tell me when I got here? You still attacked me."

"It was another act but then you…brought Kankuro with you and…I didn't want to risk him knowing. But I guess he…knew all along…he could have helped too…he's a lot like me," Akutenkou replied. Kiba felt a frown grow along his face as he turned to head back across the hall towards the guest room.

"Yeah…he is."

Kankuro had taken the position of lying across the bed once Kiba was out talking to Akutenkou, and truthfully he had begun to fall asleep. He heard the other open the door and slid into the room but didn't bother opening his eyes. It wasn't as though they had to leave right away, right? So instead he chose to stay where he was with one arm up behind his head and the other lying over his stomach. Kiba's pace was even as he crossed the room and Kankuro felt his weight sink the side of the bed only seconds before he felt that weight put _on top _of him.

"What the hell?" he shouted as he opened his eyes abruptly and Kiba's hand reached out to clench around his wrist. Panic shot like wild fire through Kankuro's system as his right hand was grabbed with, what appeared to be, violent intent. His other hand immediately shot up to shove Kiba off of him backwards and that was exactly where the Inuzuka flew – but not before his fingers latched under Kankuro's glove.

Given the choice between being yanked with Kiba or adjusting his hand to allow the glove to slip off, Kankuro chose to be yanked with Kiba. His body sat up to follow his glove as Kiba tumbled off the bed and his own arm hit the foot of the bed. The bone strained slightly before he could shift it but he managed to do so without breaking it. The brunette, now on the ground, continued to yank on Kankuro's glove like a dog trying to tear apart a shoe. One hand had clenched tightly around the Sand jounin's wrist while the other was tugging on the glove, Kankuro kept his hand fisted with intent.

"Let go of my hand! Have you lost your mind? Knock it off!" he roared more loudly then he ever felt he had in his life outside some intense agony. Without warning, Kiba slammed his arm back against Kankuro's that was still at slight odds with the footboard. Feeling the bone bang threateningly against the wood made him nervous and he jerked but his hand stayed clenched.

"Loosen your hand or I'll break your arm!" Kiba snarled over his shoulder, keeping that pressure on the other's arm. Kankuro could have moved to possibly threaten to strangle him but if Kiba leaned all his weight back, with the angle his arm was at; it was quite possible it would have broken. That was not something he was prepared to deal with.

"Why the hell are you so intent on seeing my hand?"

"Do it!"

"Forget it!" But Kiba's bluff was hardly a lie as he moved forward and then slammed more of his weight on Kankuro's arm yet again. In the strain and shock, Kankuro's hand jerked loose of his shaking clench with it and Kiba ripped the glove free.

The skin under Kankuro's glove was just as light toned as the rest of him was however much of it was pale pink with scar tissue. It looked as though sections of his skin had been cut away, no, torn away with an eraser seemed more accurate. There were thinner scars as well but none of them were like scrapes or even blade made. The damage reminded him much more of what had happened to that one Sound ninja at the chuunin exams when Shino blocked the holes in his arms. Patterns in the scar tissue implied something tore free of the surface rather than cut into it, they were littered unevenly but with a pattern throughout his hand. He was sure if he had asked for confirmation, Neji could have said they were formed based on the chakra openings in Kankuro's hand.

Suddenly the fingers in his grip began to curl back into a fist and he was unable to stop Kankuro from yanking his hand free and back handing him, hard, with a closed fist to the side of his head. The force didn't knock Kiba over but it did rattle his brain inside his head and he instantly reached up to hold his head in pain. Kankuro moved around him to retrieve his glove which had been tossed part way across the room in Kiba's rush and he slipped it back on, stretching and relaxing his fingers into the fabric. The pain in Kiba's head must have begun to subside because he was already opening that stupid mouth of his when Kankuro was proceeding back across the room.

"I don't get it…it looks like chakra exploded from your hand…your dad couldn't force chakra into someone like a Hyuuga, could he? So how did your hand end up that way?" Kiba asked. He looked over to Kankuro's whose face was strict with stoic and a glint of anger out of the corner of his eye. The jounin hefted his bag over one shoulder before sliding on the other strap. By this point, since they were leaving anyway, did it really matter if he disappeared back to Suna? Logically no; but that didn't quell the panic in Kiba's brain over it. The panic turned to anger as he reached up to grab Kankuro's wrist again, "For once would you just answer me!"

Kankuro yanked his wrist free before turning on Kiba fairly quickly and kicking him hard in his injured arm. The boy yelped and cradled his injured wrist to his stomach and he appeared in pain but, as before, his eyes portrayed otherwise when he settled them on Kankuro.

"What do you think, genius? He broke my hand and then made me use it. Think about it, how closely chakra tunnels are woven throughout our bodies; in our muscles and joints? Sure if it's something bigger like a leg or arm bone, or somewhere you don't focus so much chakra, it doesn't matter. But I'm a puppet master; he broke my hand and damaged my chakra tunnels but made me used them anyway," He snapped, "You know what that means? It means my hand exploded."

He was seeing red but strongly resisted the urge to kill the annoying pest in front of him. He should have known from the beginning that he wouldn't have been able to get through this trip without Kiba messing something up. Without him knowing something he wasn't suppose to know; it was just in the mutt's nature. His hands once again fisted tightly at his side to the point the right one started shaking but he ignored it. The anger coursing through him had already well over-powered his ability to care about what Kiba may have thought – and anyway, he had already figured it out, hadn't he? His big secret?

"That's why you were so touchy; how you knew what was going on," Kiba concluded softly after a moment. He reached a hand up to his head to fist it softly in his brown hair, staring at the floor. Akamaru, who had been unable to really do much during the argument as Kiba had told him not to attack Kankuro unless given orders to do so, padded over to his master and licked his cheek. Kiba raised his head up after a moment and looked over to his companion before his eyes flew up to Kankuro who already had his back turned to him, "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just attacked you like that…but you haven't told me a single thing about you this entire trip and when I thought I figured something out I just-"

"Jumped on it without anyone else's consent? You know my dad acted on his suspicions a lot too," he shot so quickly it made Kiba wince a little. Kankuro flexed his hands again before allowing them to relax at his side again, taking a deep breath and exhaling it. He didn't want to tell Kiba about any of this, the kid didn't even deserve to know. But that really mattered now that he knew, didn't it? Sure, right.

"I just want to know about you, alright? Even if this relationship isn't real or anything there are just some things about you that I don't get and it bothers me." He pushed himself up and crossed the room back towards Kankuro again but hesitated when he realized he had reached out to touch his shoulder again. He curled his fingers back and let his hand fall again but didn't take his eyes away from the other as he stepped around to the front of him, "And you can't tell me you're not interested in me either because we both know that's bull."

Kankuro, whose eyes had been averted, lifted them up jerkily towards Kiba at that mention and he felt his hands tighten again at his sides but not so hard that they shook. Black slit eyes were focused n him with the intent to bore through his head and read what he was thinking as though Kiba actually had that power. He looked down over the other's body, still lithe through his loose clothes for the trip home. The Inuzuka was comfort based today, his short sleeved T-shirt hung down nearly to his mid thighs and his brown shorts stopped just above his knees as usual - his shoes hadn't even been put on yet. He brought his eyes back up the form only to see Kiba still staring at him, watching him look.

Without hesitation, but not with his usual speed, the elder moved forward and his hand caught on Kiba's hip. The boy jerked slightly but more worried he was going to be hit, and as Kankuro watched his eyes he noticed the gaze slip. Not away, but to the familiar eager look he had seen in him what felt like ages ago. Was he hoping Kankuro would hurt him? Did he want that still? A gloved hand slid up under his shirt and fingertips traced over some of the rough scars adorning Kiba's sides and ribs. His breathing was soft but not shallow, just controlled, and he stilled once he felt the smooth skin of Kankuro's fingertips along him. His eyes flickered like he wanted to break contact but he didn't, he kept them met with those dark green ones that appeared more like black much of the time.

"You did these," Kankuro said, stepping so close the line of his body seemed to move through the air and brace against Kiba's. His fingertips ran along one particularly long scar that curved from just along Kiba's back all the way around to his navel.

"Yeah," Kiba said, a small tremor moving through his form at the tickle along his stomach. Faintly he remembered the feeling of those chakra heated fingers from just the evening before. Kankuro's eyes traveled down his form to watch his own hand move for a moment before they lifted back up to Kiba's. Having him closer made Kiba need to tilt his head up a little more, something he hated to have to do because the idea of being shorter than someone made him feel weak at times, but the feeling was unable to overcome the mere presence of Kankuro that close. He watched those eyes frame the question that that painted lips weren't moving to ask, "Liked it too."

The challenge in his voice made a hot spark run from Kankuro's stomach throughout his entire body and, more importantly to him, southward of where it had begun. He moved forward and pressed the heat of his form along Kiba's, his arm sliding around the other's waist and running along that scar back to his lower back. Rather than being faced with fear, the two of them smirked in unison at one another. His neck curved slightly so his cheek hovered near Kiba's and his dark lips were placed at the other's ear. The smaller brunette didn't move but he wasn't shaking in fear, he wasn't pulling away or screaming that Kankuro was too close, "You think this will make you learn more about me? Or are you just doing this to test the waters, Kiba?"

Kankuro's voice was steady and low at his ear, making Kiba's lobe warm with his breath but not stopping him from a reply, "You like to hurt just as much as I do." Kankuro didn't answer, he didn't tense, but he stilled in his closeness and Kiba softened his own voice, "You could have stopped Arashi from kicking me…you saw him do it, with your speed and techniques…you could have stopped him. But you didn't, did you? You watched him kick me into the wall." He lifted his lips up towards Kankuro's own ear, though he couldn't get as close as the other was to him, "You like watching me hurt but you can't do it yourself. You hold back in fear that I might catch on; that it'll scare me away…that is, if you have a chance anyway, right?"

Kiba's hand moved up to run along Kankuro's arm where it rested on his side, slowly pushing it down and away. He whispered faintly into his ear, "Guess I know your biggest secrets after all."

He stepped away from the taller boy whose eyes watched him with a mix of confusion and attraction. Kiba moved out of the bubble of heat they had been creating, brushing past the other as he moved to pick up his bag and Tsume called for them to get a move on so they could go. He headed for the door, glancing at Kankuro only partially out of the corner of his eye, "You decide when you're ready to drop your halo of insecurities and get serious."

With that he slipped out of the room slyly and headed down the stairs, Akamaru at his heels, and left Kankuro to his thoughts. The jounin couldn't believe that within a few hours, Kiba had managed to figure out two secrets that no one else knew aside from his family. Temari and Gaara didn't know about his sadistic ideas, even if Temari would have claimed it was obvious if he had ever told him. The masochist whom he had been chasing, pressuring, and yet distancing himself from…had figured out his two biggest secrets. Had figured them out and done so little in reaction for them that Kankuro was sure no one would _ever _respond to _anything _in the way Kiba responded to almost everything.


	12. Stage 12

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing(s):** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Swearing and violence.  
**Chapter OST:** Nothing! Ha, can you believe it?

**Author's Note:** Aaaahhh! I know, _finally_ right? I'm sorry it took so long for this update. I was putting it off and off and eventually the story just died in my mind. Not to mention my writing skills seemed shot. But after taking a vacation with the actual thought in my head I managed to get out this chapter and be happy with it!

I want to thank all of you for encouraging me and not getting all...attack-the-author-ish. Especially Burnt, Tao, and San. You guys gave the coolest reviews and didn't pressure me while still giving encouraging comments on all my other work. Thanks muchly.

There's only one (possibly two) more chapters to this story and I know a lot of you are looking forward to its conclusion. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait (which is basically saying I hope you guys like fight scenes) and I can promise you know that Kiba and Kankuro will be taking a relationship step in the next chapter (which is what you ALL want, right?). I bet you're getting sick of these shounen-ai stories with so LITTLE guy love, am I right?

Well I guarentee it'll be in the next chapter, so I'll see you then.

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Nothing else of real interest had happened since they left Kiri's house, still early in the morning but entirely awake from the previous night. The fact nothing appealing happened could have been pinned on the fact they had only managed to get ten or fifteen minutes away before Raikou was running after them. The group all turned around to see the rather panic stricken boy waving one of his arms above his head and calling for Tsume as he ran towards the group. Pushing herself to the rear she steadied him with an arm on his shoulder, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Did you leave the condoms out where they could find them? God Kankuro," Kiba said which made Tsume whirl around on him faster than Kankuro had ever seen anyone whirl. Kiba moved a hand up to his mouth to cover his chuckles as Kankuro's fist solidly connected with his arm.

"Shut up, are you _trying _to get me-" Kankuro stopped abruptly as a rather low growl emitted from Tsume. His dark-forest eyes shot in that direction, slightly widened, before he brought his hands up defensively, attempting to make it look as though he were less nervous than he was, "It was a joke, we didn't do anything."

"You better not have," she snapped. Raikou's hand moved up to grab her shoulder as he caught his breath, the other hand on his chest. Kiba always wondered about why it was that when running wasn't for a mission it suddenly left people breathless.

"Tsuyu's missing…one minute she was in the yard and the next thing we know Moya comes in screaming that Arashi showed up and she left with him. You've got to help us find her," he informed through his total lack of air.

"Gone? Do you have any idea where Arashi would have taken her?" Tsume asked as the two boys behind her exchanged looks and Hana's dark eyes were fixed on her mother.

Raikou shook his head, "But your dogs, they know what she smells like right? They can help track her."

"We can split up," Kiba suggested, looking down to Akamaru.

"I'm not having you run around this village alone after what happened last night, you're already suffering from a sprained wrist," Tsume told him.

"I'll stick with him," Kankuro spoke up before he'd even registered it but at the same time it didn't throw him off. He discovered that random outbursts weren't worth the expression of shock when he was around the Inuzuka boy anymore. He looked down to Kiba's black eyes as they came up to glance in his direction and they shared in a slight nod. Tsume's eyes flickered between the two of them before looking back to Raikou and sighing.

"Agreed," she faulted with defeat evident in her voice. The tone didn't last long before she immediately took charge, "Raikou, go back home to wait with your mother and siblings. If Arashi comes back Akutenkou is in no condition to fight. Hana, you keep going ahead and scout around the town limits with the brothers. Kuromaru and I will take the diameter of the village; Kiba and Kankuro go back in the direction of the house."

The group silently nodded before Hana took off ahead with the Haimaru Sankyodai following; Kiba and Kankuro ran past Tsume to head back towards the house with Raikou while Tsume herself veered off down a street to the left.

"My team excelled in tracking and survival, this hunt will be a piece of cake," Kiba smirked.

"Are you looking to get your ass kicked again?" Kankuro questioned, raising a brow out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you looking to watch?" Kiba shot back. Something mixed between anger, embarrassment and defeat prevented Kankuro from answering so he simply turned his gaze forward again.

In no time the Kuromizu house entered their vision again and Raikou stopped in the yard to point out where Moya and Tsuyu had been playing. Akamaru put his nose to the cold ground and was able to pick up the scent within a matter of seconds before barking to the three boys and running off. The village was thankfully rather vacant but Kankuro still noticed the numbers slimming down as they continued to run after Akamaru.

The lessening number of people brought up a memory of a part of the village in Suna that he had always avoided. Perhaps not for the fact that he was afraid of it so much as no one worth visiting lived there. He always suspected every village, except for maybe the ever-so-perfect Konoha, to have a part of it that was simply marked off as bad news. Had Arashi really brought one of his daughters here?

Kankuro's gaze moved back ahead from its distracted side view only to find Kiba suddenly not within his sight. Almost immediately, tenseness registered through his entire body; there was no way Kiba could have, let alone _would _have, pulled ahead of him so far. As well, if he was going to turn down an ally way he definitely would have announced it in some way. No, this reeked of genjutsu.

With that thought in place, Kankuro planted his feet and stopped in the fairly empty street they had been traveling. The fact so few people were on the road may have set him off as well were it not so early in the morning. Tons of people being awake and bustling in the streets at the time they had woken up to leave was completely unlikely.

As he remained stationary in the middle of the road he felt the mist settling over him as it had been their entire trip. Ever since he had come to this island he couldn't stand the way the moist air clung to his body. It was a distracting and annoying feeling that only made him long for Suna's dry heat all the more. An advantage like the atmosphere was most likely put to good use as frequently as possible; though Kankuro had never fought with someone so far from his own village before. _This'll be a real test of opposites, _he thought, his eyes moving from side to side as well as looking behind him.

However, as he remained still he felt more than just the mist on him; or rather, he could feel an exaggerated weight of the fog on him. The instant the thought occurred to the jounin he tried to move and was able to do it – but not in time to dodge the two kunai that appeared seconds before impaling him in the chest and stomach. Some how, the act of being thrown off balance by the force of the blades wasn't affected at all as he stumbled backwards and managed to set his footing again.

Green eyes widened in shock at the sudden attack and looked to where the weapons had come from. Sure enough, Arashi was the next thing to appear from the haze with another three blades in hand. Kankuro could feel the increasing weight of the wet air on his body the closer the other stepped and could already tell this was just another technique. Amusement lit up Arashi's eyes when the foreigner lifted up his hand as though that would be enough to stop the onslaught of blades.

_Click! _The sound was just loud enough that Arashi's ears, tense for the moment of attack, could pick up on it. A black hole opened up in Kankuro's hand and five thin, metal senbon needles launched out through the haze. Normally they may have glinted and that was what allowed an enemy to dodge, but the gray light of the Village Hidden in Mist hardly allowed for such a glint. Swinging his weight, Arashi dodged all five except for one that managed to snag in his loose shirt.

_That's right, he's a puppet master_, the older jounin remembered with a spark to his memory, _it would have been foolish to follow so closely behind Kiba if his techniques would allow otherwise._ His dark eyes looked through the fog in the seconds he was allowed before the offensive puppet, Karasu, was hurled in his direction once again. Wielding a poison coated blade from one hand, he swung at the Mist ninja and shredded part of his shirt but missed skin yet again. Arashi noted how the sand guise of Kankuro was slipping to the ground as it moved, leaving behind the intimidating doll.

"I should have assumed you would already have a puppet in your place; they were hidden in your scrolls, weren't they?" he called to the empty street. Arashi's illusion slipped away to reveal that whatever people had been on the street had disappeared by now. Ally ways and roof-tops were the only places the puppet wielder could have hidden because many of these buildings were already home to civilians.

Kankuro kept his back pressed hard against the arc-like indentation in the buildings he had taken as his hiding place. Fighting here wasn't really advantageous to him, not only because of the mist but because of the lack of places to conceal himself. Arashi's technique to weigh him down couldn't find him unless he had been seen, but he felt the ability through Karasu. It had suddenly become harder to pull the strings; even now while he fought the puppet was sluggish to respond to his chakra controls.

Twitching his pinky, Karasu's arm opened at the elbow and he fired a gas bomb straight for Arashi. Ducking and rolling still didn't prevent the bomb from exploding as it hit the ground but it was Kankuro was left in shock. Arashi didn't even raise an arm up to cover his mouth as the purple smoke filled the street air. Instead he started chanting and the dangerous toxin began to dissipate faster than it was suppose to, leaving the air fresh behind it.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Arashi scolded like a teacher to a pupil, "The mist has always been here, Kankuro, do you really think our ninja haven't figured out ways to make toxins disappear from the air? Our _genin _know that trick, try harder."

Anger sparked in the teenager at the bash to his pride and once again he had Karasu swing around and head straight for his opponent. At the last moment a needle protruded from Karasu's hand and sliced open Arashi's cheek as he twirled to dodge it. Yanking hard on the strings yet again, Kankuro sent him in an opposite spin to slice him across the stomach with the poison soaked blade. Arashi was too quick though, and kicked the hand with his chakra coated feet, snapping the blade and sending it ironically to land in the dirt near Kankuro.

"So this is the ability of our opposing village?" Arashi asked, amusement evident in his voice as he referred to all the contradicting traits of the Sand to the Mist, "And here I thought you would all be more fearsome then this. Playing with puppets instead of properly learning to use them, what a shame."

One of the first rules of being a puppet master was to never allow your pride to rule your head. It was actually a major rule of being a ninja, but for a puppeteer it was the difference between life and death even more than average. If an enemy appealed to their pride then rushing head long into battle would result in certain death.

As well, if the turf wasn't one you didn't know then it was especially key. He closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to focus on the situation; Kankuro was running two against him by this point, _Don't listen to him. You aren't in the open; it isn't like with Sakon and Ukon when you'd already shown yourself. You can't afford to get cocky._

A tingle of suspicion ran down his spine and his green eyes opened again, turning to look beside him just as a sudden kick was landed to his head. The spin of it thankfully hadn't sent him colliding into the wall; however it had managed to dislodge him from his hiding place. Chakra aided the force and sent him skidding across the road to the complete other side where his back crashed with the opposing building. Karasu went suddenly limp at the severance of his master's chakra strings and Arashi turned at the commotion.

Coppery blood mixed with saliva slid down Kankuro's throat as he swallowed and his head spun, making his vision blurred when he opened his eyes. Even through his lack of focus he could tell that the person in front of him wasn't Arashi. Gradually the other form came forward and Kankuro's vision cleared while his mind was sent into a state of confusion.

"Tsuyu," he realized and while his voice was not incredibly weak it was hardly up to normal par. Tsuyu stood with her hands on her hips looking down to Kankuro as the older boy began to push himself up. She found herself smirking something as menacing as her father, as he came to the realization of who it was.

"Duh, who else would it be? Raikou and Moya are wimps and Akutenkou got the snot kicked out of him," she said.

"I thought I told you to follow Kiba," Arashi responded as he came up on the two. Kankuro had gotten his footing back and glanced beyond the other to his puppet once again. The little girl turned her face towards her father with innocent eyes.

"I was but he wasn't doing anything so I came back to help you, it was so boring," she whined. Arashi sighed and shook his head but Kankuro could easily tell by the smile that he wasn't angry with her disobedience at all. If anything, he had been expecting it from her. He put his hand on top of her pig-tailed head and smiled slightly.

"I suppose that's alright."

"Listen," Kankuro spoke up and spit blood off to the side of him. The kick had made him bite his tongue some how, "As much as I hate to break up this little family gathering, I think we were in the middle of something."

At that instant, Karasu turned around and brought up his arm to fire a kunai blade directly for Arashi's back. However, now that Arashi's sights had settled on Kankuro, the Suna jounin suddenly felt the immediate weight that must have been the same technique used on Karasu. Twitching his ring finger wasn't enough to set the mechanism into motion – but it was enough to alert Arashi to his dominant hand.

Grabbing it in a swift hold he slammed it hard against the edge of the building and though it didn't snap, Kankuro felt the jolt of pain spread up his entire arm. Moving through the heaviness set on his body, Kankuro dislodged one of his own kunai from his pocket and brought it up and forward to cut Arashi. The jounin had been too close to dodge completely but the cut wasn't fatal, just enough to get him to take a few steps back.

Kankuro's wrist throbbed and Arashi set his dangerous sight to the jounin once again, "The arrangement would have remained perfect if it weren't for you and that mutt. Invading into other people's lives as though you're so righteous; when really you're nothing but children."

"Heh," Kankuro chuckled, tightening his grip on the blade in his left hand, "My dad didn't have a good reason for beating the shit out of me either."

It was Tsuyu who landed the blow to his stomach and sent him doubling over into a knee to the sternum from Arashi. Pain swelled through practically his entire front side and soon his back as it collided with the building again and he slid down. Though he couldn't see him, he could hear Arashi's approaching foot steps and when he opened his eyes it was just enough sight to allow him to aim for yet another cut. This time he had aimed for the throat.

But once again his attack was halted and a sharp jab to the bone of his wrist made him drop the knife and it clattered to the ground. Arashi was swift and silent in picking it up, once again slamming Kankuro's hand to the building, except this time it was his left and not his right so it avoided the sharp corner. Soon though, an entirely different pain ran through his palm and Kankuro wasn't quite fast enough to silence the scream though he did manage to mute it a little as the sting jolted through his bones.

Arashi impaled the teenager's left hand with the kunai blade and ground it deep into the hard wall behind him. Blood had jetted from the injury in a stream and coated part of his face but he seemed content to ignore it as Kankuro's fingers instinctively coiled forward. The muscles' attempts to move around the sharp knife only managed to further intensify the injury but the damage prevented Kankuro from stopping it and he was forced to wait until they stopped on their own.

"The blade may very well have messed up the muscles in your hand for the rest of your life," Arashi told him, a cheerfully sadistic gleam in his voice. He reached around Kankuro for one of the boy's own kunai again while his other hand moved for Kankuro's remaining right, "And what good is a puppeteer without his hands?"

"About as good as a father without a heart!" Kiba shouted, "Akamaru!"

The dog was already mid run but the sound of his name made him open terrifyingly large jaws which clamped down on Arashi's wrist hard enough that Kankuro _was _able to hear a crack. Jerking backwards in shock and now the pain of a broken wrist, Arashi dropped the second knife and got back to his feet. Tsuyu screamed at the sight of her father struggling with the dog and ran to help him while Kiba's focus went to Kankuro.

"Don't move," he said as he held Kankuro's hand against the building and wrapped his fingers around the blade. In one swift jerk he managed to get it out and Kankuro's hand went helplessly limp, the puppet master grunting at the pain.

"What took you so long?" he snapped.

"Oh shut up, I came didn't I?" he argued back and stood up to look at Akamaru.

"Help him," Kankuro said, gesturing with his head as he held his hand bleeding hand against his stomach, "I'm not as weak as you Konoha brats. I'll be alright if you don't take forever."

Kiba bit back a reply and still found that he was smirking a little but stood up to approach Arashi, landing a solid punch straight in the side of the jaw as Akamaru kept a grip on his wrist.

"That's for Akutenkou!" he shouted, a blind rage over coming him. Akamaru jerked the man down into Kiba's up coming knee, smashing it into his sternum with intense force, "And that's for beating the shit out of my boyfriend!"

Tsuyu came in with a kunai and sliced a deep gash across Kiba's back and side, making the other recoil and hiss in pain. Even from where Kankuro sat it was obvious the little girl noticed how that had only managed to help rather than hinder the masochistic teen as she stumbled backwards with tears in her eyes. Arashi was given the opening to land a solid punch into Kiba's stomach and the Inuzuka stumbled backwards but remained on his feet. Clapping his hands together in the form of a sign he bent close to the ground, "Akamaru!"

The dog had become too large to jump on his back as Kankuro had seen at the chuunin exams, but he came close and an explosion of smoke left two feral looking Kiba's visible. Without his gray jacket to hide much of his hair, it left noticeable the fact that the brunette's entire image looked sharp and dangerous. His slitted eyes were wild and ferocious, fixed on Arashi as though he were the only thing on the dinner menu.

"Fang Over Fang!" Splitting up and running at him, the two took to spinning at intensely high speeds and Kankuro didn't doubt Arashi was wishing he had used the weighted technique on them. They collided with his body at full force and sent him reeling nearly out of sight down the street, repeatedly hitting the floor and bouncing until he dug up dirt with his final stop.

Akamaru and Kiba fell to their feet, Kiba with his hands clenched tightly at his sides and his gaze down the dirt road. His nails dug into his palms to the point that they were bleeding but, like the rest of the pain, it only made his body feel alert and warm. Liquid heat was flowing through his veins and his senses absorbed it like soil absorbs water, "And that's for my father."


	13. Stage 13

**Series/Disclaimer:** Naruto, which I don't own.  
**Pairing:** Kankuro x Kiba  
**Warning(s):** Intimate situation - that's about it.  
**Chapter OST:** If You Were Gay + Schadenfreude + The Internet is For Porn - Aveune Q; Innocent Sorrow - Abingdon Boy's School; Snow Kiss - NIRGILIS; Ryuusei - TiA

**Author's Note:** It's done!

I hope you all enjoyed the run of this story. I know that despite many parts I might have been unhappy with and needing to be corrected on spelling errors I enjoyed writing it. Especially because this is my OTP and I actually managed to complete a story involving two characters I absolutely adore. I think it came out really well and I hope this sums everything up for all of you.

I don't know if there will be a sequel or not - at the moment I'm thinking about sticking to random one shots whenever I have bursts of insipration for them. Other than that, thanks a ton for reading and reviewing all of it. I know that I lose motivation when people don't show interest in my stories so I really appreciate it from all of you.

Hope you'll all continue to look forward to work from me despite this story being drawn to its close. I know I'm looking forward to more writing.

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Kankuro got his hand wrapped for the second time by Kiba once the group stopped for the night at an out-of-the-way inn. It was true that they had both been injured, but aside from some soreness they were good to walk and getting back home couldn't be prolonged except for serious injury. After their fight with Arashi, Kiba had sent Akamaru to find Tsume and Hana, a feat the dog managed in a matter of minutes. Hana, who excelled more with healing than the rest of them, gave the jounin stitches and bandaged his hand and wrapped up her brother's side. Soon after that, they were back on their way.

But now they had stopped and Kankuro's bandages needed replaced and his wound cleaned. The seventeen year old had insisted on doing it himself up to the point that Hana had threatened to send all three of her dogs after him. She said there was a chance he could stretch open the wound and tear the stitches no matter how careful he was – so Kiba was assigned to help.

"Stop fidgeting," Kiba told him, tugging on his wrist again with his good hand.

"Then be more careful," Kankuro replied and tried to relax his sore hand. Hana had also been kind enough to tell him that he would be able to use it without problem if he didn't tear the stitches. All it needed was rest and some medicinal herbs until it recovered which would take a few weeks. Gaara wouldn't be pleased to hear it, but what could any of them do about that?

Kiba squeezed the cloth over the bowl of water he had brought from the bathroom until it was damp and carefully cleaned away the blood that had leaked around the stitches. Thankfully the injury had stopped bleeding which meant that the herbs were doing what they were supposed. He tilted Kankuro's smooth hand slightly so he could get as close as possible with the end of the cloth. Kankuro bit back the urge to twitch again, something instinctive by the point the most useful part of his body was at risk. But still, Kiba could tell the other was nervous to have him so close to an injury of such importance. After all, what _was _a puppeteer without his hands?

"There," the younger teen said as he dropped the cloth back into the bowl and reached for the small jar of herbs that Hana had given them. A small wave of relief flooded Kankuro and he relaxed, exhaling a breath he was well aware he had been holding.

"You know," Kankuro started, pulling his hand back to rest it on his thigh again while Kiba found the jar. He migrated back over to Kankuro and took the hand again, smearing the chilled ointment around the edges of the wound just as carefully as he had cleaned them, "When you landed that kick on Arashi you said it was for beating up your boyfriend."

"So?" Kiba asked, but didn't look up. Across the room, Akamaru lifted his head to sniff at the air which was about as much a hint to Kiba's tenseness as Kiba stuttering would have been.

"So…was that out of spite for him or what?" he questioned. He avoided looking at Kiba's work by instead focusing on Kiba himself even if all he could really see of the other was the top of his brunette head.

The Inuzuka finished applying the herbs and reached for the bandages and began wrapping them around Kankuro's hand without replying. After being on so many missions he was quick but efficient in wrapping them, tugging them firmly but never once making Kankuro wince or draw his hand away. Part of him was hoping that Kankuro would just let it go when he didn't respond, after all he had done it before, maybe now would be no different.

But that part of him was immediately crushed as the other's good hand moved to latch itself into his messy hair and force him to look up. Pain spiked along his scalp but the instant he met Kankuro's face he knew that was the intention. Maybe he knew it was the intention before staring into those dark eyes but it became completely clear once he was actually looking, like a tightening anticipation in his stomach. Familiar sinister eyes gleaming with an intent he hadn't been able to read before yet strangely picked up now…and purple painted lips pulled into a dominant smirk.

"You already know," he growled, nose snarling in a way only an Inuzuka's nose could snarl, "You just want to hear me say it."

"Heh," Kankuro chuckled softly through his smirk. Never once did his eyes look away from those black ones, "Yeah, pretty much."

Kiba tugged on the bandage still in his hand and Kankuro hissed softly, releasing his hair and letting him return to what he was doing. In a matter of minutes he was done, securing the end of the bandage at Kankuro's wrist so it wouldn't come loose. Thinking his job done, he grabbed the bowl of water and picked it up only to have Kankuro's good hand move out once again to his waist and pull him forward. Kiba stopped as his legs hit the bed the Suna jounin was sitting on and the other's hand dropped to his hip, a hold that he could have easily removed himself from.

That was what Kankuro had wanted, or rather had been waiting for. For Kiba to slip out; because if he didn't at least give him the chance he wouldn't have been able to stand it. A sadist he was but a rapist he was not – he may have playfully rubbed Kiba's stomach when they were still in the Mist, he may have even been aiming to turn him on…but he would sooner kill himself then rape anyone. Yet, Kiba didn't pull away from him like he had expected and Kankuro's fingers found where Kiba's own bandaging had began along his chest. Tugging on it loosened the wrappings and as he ran his hand down the other's side they slipped away easier than they should have – chakra strings. He let the gauze slither down to rest at Kiba's hips and moved his hand up, running his fingertips over the deep cut that Tsuyu had carved into him that morning.

As expected, Kiba sucked air through his teeth quickly and his body fidgeted when that pain pricked through his system. Kankuro had barely touched the wound but he could feel the heat along those fingertips and it spiked through his system as though it had been controlled to do that. Soon the heat along his back was accompanied by an even warmer sensation at his side. Looking down he saw the other had leaned forward to run the tip of his tongue along the part of the injury that had grazed his side. It migrated with sexual grace from the end of the cut towards the middle where the wound got deeper. Soon nearly his entire side was tingling with the burst of heat he had come to recognize as something only Kankuro could do.

His hand that didn't old the bowl rested on his shoulder and he curved his fingers into the black material of the shirt to steady himself. The warmth swirling through his body was coming to rest low in his stomach which tightened in expectation threatened to grow into something more carnal. Need washed over him yet at the same time his brain screamed to tell Kankuro to stop, that his body was on overload. Pain had felt good before but combined with another person actually being _intimate _with his body; the sensation bordered on overwhelming.

Sensing his wavering, Kankuro drew away and leaned back away from Kiba, moving his hand up to the other's neck. Kiba looked down just as he was pulled in that direction and soon his lips were caught against Kankuro's. Even though the rush had seemed quick, the kiss was something entirely different and wasn't hurried as he had been confident would happen. The other's lips against his own filled his nose with that faint chemical scent again but if the paint had any taste it wasn't there. The older teenager brought him down quick, as though his intention was to ravage Kiba's mouth, but the kiss itself was nothing far from sensual. A level of innocent that Kiba didn't think Kankuro even _had_.

He drew back again to meet Kiba's eyes once more and blinked at the almost lost expression which quickly turned in to a flushed one. Kankuro smirked slightly in the face of the younger teenager but as their eyes flicked and danced while still remaining caught in the gaze, Kiba set the bowl on the bed and moved forward, sliding his knee on the mattress between Kankuro's legs. His hands moved up to Kankuro's hair, running back through the jagged, messy brown and he was pulled forward into another kiss.

The room felt warm around them, as though something different from charka were circulating so rapid and so heated that it couldn't be contained only in their bodies. His hand danced over the wound along the other's back, practically massaging it to the point blood spread over his fingers but neither of them seemed bothered. It was as though the pain only pushed Kiba harder while his pushing made Kankuro fight back. An equal exchange while each of them tried to outdo the other, running the course of a circle that had no end to its beginning.

They both twisted away for air but painted lips lunged forward to work a trail along Kiba's neck until finding the slight curve of his shoulder. Soon teeth were used, pulling and tugging the skin of the already sore teenager and leaving Kiba unable to decide how to move. His head slipped forward, resting his forehead against Kankuro's shoulder while one of his own hands moved down over the other's side. He explored in a way that was nearly hesitant yet not obvious about it. Kiba wasn't shy person, just inexperienced…careful, if anything, was what he would admit to.

When Kankuro bit particularly hard he gave a soft cry and bit sharply into his lip to keep from being too loud about it. The leg supporting him on the bed started to shake just slightly but he tried to ignore it, "K-Kankuro," he said against the other's ear, "Not now. Your hand."

"Forget it," he murmured. Kiba had to fight to think of the reply as words rather than simply a hot breath along his skin. Feeling the jounin so close and so warm was nearly enough to make him take that suggestion, just forget it; but another thought came to mind.

"Really," he replied, shifting and pulling away from Kankuro enough he could catch the other's closed eyes out of the corner of his own, "I don't want to risk it."

Kankuro opened his dark eyes partially and traced his warm tongue over where he had been working at the other's neck. It earned him a shudder but Kiba pulled back to meet his stare even though the warmth and closeness of him still felt as though he were leaning against him. The Inuzuka could have just been trying to get out of it, maybe he wasn't as masochistic as they both assumed. Or maybe he was but just not ready; both were things Kankuro could understand. They wouldn't stop him from teasing him, but he would understand.

Something about his gaze was different, though, and it wasn't as though he didn't want to do this; more as though he knew what might have come if they did. Just as one night of passion wasn't worth the potential to become pregnant, it wasn't worth forever losing his ability to be a ninja.

He nodded as he began to catch his breath, "Sure."

Kiba offered a smile that flashed those fangs of his again but in a way that was more charming than menacing. He pressed his lips over Kankuro's once more prior to pulling back and taking the bowl of water with him to the bathroom. The elder watched the other's form shift as he walked, he made it to the doorway before turning around to smirk over his shoulder, "Besides, I want you perfect."

A brow shot above the other's eye, "Yeah? What makes you think I wouldn't be 'perfect' now?"

Kiba shrugged, disappearing into the bathroom, "Well, I'd know you could have done better without an injured hand. You've got to live up to all that flirting after all. And face it," he leaned out of the bathroom and fixed Kankuro with a condescending gleam in his eye, "if you're as good injured as you are at the top of your game – you really aren't backing up all the hints."

"When did you become a promiscuous mutt?" Kankuro asked after a small bought of speechlessness. His voice was bordering between a laugh and a bit of shock but Kiba just closed the door in response.

Sighing and shaking his head, Kankuro gave his hand an accusing look and scooted back towards the head of the bed, using his feet to kick up the blankets. When Kiba left the bathroom a few minutes later he flicked off the remaining lights and put the herb jar on the bedside table. Despite the room containing two beds, he slipped under Kankuro's sheets with a completely comfortable grace; as though he had done it every night on this trip and millions of times before that.

Turning off the last light he yawned and the bed gave a quick jerk as Akamaru jumped up to lie at their feet. However, the jerk of the frame wasn't the only movement on the bed and Kiba squirmed his way over to Kankuro's side and rested his arm over the other's stomach, his head on the pillow.

"How long have you wanted to do that?" Kankuro inquired, trading in his borderline laughing voice for his pompous one again. Kiba smiled as he seemed to think about it for a minute or two, nuzzling his brunette head more along the other's arm as he did so.

"Since I watched you sleeping last night," Kiba told him.

"You watched me sleep?"

"It's so rare…" Kiba trailed off with a yawn, "to see you without your make-up on."

"It's facial paint," Kankuro corrected a tad defensively. Kiba snickered into his shoulder.

"Whatever you say." He yawned again and opened his eyes to look up to Kankuro's face in the glow of the moon as he had done the previous night.

Outside of the haze of the Mist the view seemed less dreamlike – though that may simply have been because now he could be closer to it. To _him_. He'd left his paint on for some reason but Kiba didn't doubt it would disappear for a few moments in the morning before they left. His eyes were closed and his body relaxed as he slipped back into that state Kiba had found strangely attractive, or at least it seemed strange then, in the guest room at the Kuromizu home.

Watching him now seemed completely normal compared to then. Now that it was confirmed, in their own strange way, that they were together. The kissing had been natural, the biting, and the fact Kankuro played with his wounds so casually yet with such care and intimacy. All of it felt right and normal, two things he was sure they were not by this point. Nothing about them would really be _normal_ even if he had wanted to be. Kankuro wasn't the kind of person he assumed he'd end up with; whether this lasted or not.

But how could he care now? Masochist to sadist, older to younger, abused to loved, jounin to chuunin…how could he care when, through all their lying, they fit so well? When it made things so interesting? It was simple.

He couldn't.


End file.
